Hardest of Hearts
by satellitecall1
Summary: There's always one person out there for someone. Piper Chapman is seven years old when she first feels her soulmate. Alex Vause is thirteen. A story about how they find each other. See inside for a more detailed summary.
1. Chapter 1

_Hardest of Hearts_

A soulmate AU where you can feel the pain that your soulmate feels

 _A/N: So, I have a lot of stories that I want to write (Welcome to the Jungle Sequel, We Looked Like Giants Sequel, etc.) But this idea kind of took hold of me. I first read the prompt in_ "New Romantics" _by NightsLightss, and couldn't get it out of my head. I snooped around the internet to make sure it wasn't an original prompt because I didn't want to plagiarize, and I found a similar prompt on tumblr. I tried to hold out on writing it, but I've written the first three chapters, and just can't let it go. The story is all outlined and partially written, and probably will be about nine chapters._

 _I know that I really like writing this so far, but I'm a little worried about what you guys will think. I've never really written fantasy type fics like this (not that this is really fantasy, but the whole subconsciously feeling your soulmate is out of my element), so I'm not sure whether you all would like it. I also don't want to look like I'm copying NightsLightss one shot; I think I've changed enough and the plot is different enough that it shouldn't be an issue, especially since this is a posted AU prompt, but if you guys don't like the plot or think it's too similar, just let me know and I'll delete it._

 _Alright, Author's Note is almost over. Please let me know what you think, I'm really leaving it up to you guys as to whether or not I continue, so feedback it appreciated!_

 _Title inspired by_ "Hardest of Hearts" _by Florence and the Machine_

* * *

Chapter 1

 _Piper Chapman_

Piper Chapman is seven years old when she first feels it.

She was sitting in her back yard, reading under an oak tree, when suddenly she felt a searing pain in her nose, as if it had been broken. Blood was starting to dip from her nose as her knees suddenly started to burn, as if she had just scraped her knees from falling on pavement.

Terrified, Piper ran into her house tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Mom!" she wailed as she entered the kitchen.

"Piper, there's no need to-" Carol Chapman stopped as she looked up from the newspaper. "Piper! What happened?"

"I don't know," Piper sobbed as her mother led her to a chair. "I was just reading and then my nose hurt and now I'm bleeding."

"Oh, Piper," her mother murmured sympathetically as she dabbed at the blood.

"Am I dying?" Piper asked as the pain in the nose finally lessened. "What's happening to me?"

"Piper, don't be ridiculous, you aren't dying," Piper's mother scoffed. "It's just your soulmate."

"My what?"

"Your soulmate. Everyone has a soulmate, and when your soulmate gets hurt, you feel their pain."

"Why?"

"Because you're connected. And you always will be," Carol was finished cleaning the blood, and was now inspecting Piper's nose, her brow furrowed.

"What's wrong Mom?" Piper asked.

"I'm not sure I like the idea of your soulmate getting hit in the face," Carol explained. "He seems like a troublemaker."

XXXXXX

From then on, Piper becomes accustomed to bumps and bruises appearing every couple of weeks. Most were mild, and she rarely to her parents when she was hurt anymore, only when it was serious.

When Piper was ten, her left wrist had begun to hurt so bad and swell so much that she could barely move it at all, and she broke down and told her parents. Her father soothed her, sitting her in his lap as her mother prepared an ice pack.

"It seems like whoever your soulmate is, he just broke his wrist," Piper's dad remarked, trying to lighten the mood.

"I guess," Piper winced as her mother placed the ice on her throbbing wrist.

"Bill, don't make light," Carol piped in, an edge to her voice. "Piper has been getting banged up since she was seven over this boy, it's completely ridiculous."

"Well, he's probably just being a young boy, it happens," Bill shrugged.

"Yes, well he should take better care. He should have been told by now what happens in these situations."

As Piper's parents continued to bicker, Piper's thoughts drifted to her soulmate. She began to wonder how he had broken his wrist, why he seemed to get hurt so much, what his life was like; Piper wanted to know everything.

XXXXXX

At twelve, Piper Chapman begins to question the idea of soulmates.

She was hanging around outside the movie theater with her friend Sarah when she saw her father across the street. She watches as he leaves a store with a woman, kisses her, and then gets in his car and drive away with her.

And it doesn't make sense.

In school, her class recently had a lesson on soulmates. Soulmates were people who were meant to be together. Once you meet your soulmate, there is no law forcing a pair together, but it's supposed to be very difficult to stay away.

Then why was her father kissing other women?

Even worse, when she went home and told her mother about it, she wasn't even fazed. In fact, she punished _Piper_ for seeing a movie without her mother's permission, and everything in her house went on as usual.

Piper had gotten so angry that she kicked the wall of the garage for five minutes until she calmed down.

And she began to wonder if soulmates were worth it.

XXXXXX

When Piper was thirteen, she learned another important lesson.

It's summertime. Piper is lounging in the pool while her mother was reading on the patio and her father was gardening, standing on a ladder clipping the bushes. She was floating aimlessly on a raft, reading, when she suddenly heard the metal ladder shift.

Piper looked up in time to see her father fall backwards off the ladder, his left foot hitting the ground and twisting at an awkward angle before he hit the ground. She heard her father gasp and swear as he hit the ground, clearly in pain.

Almost immediately, Piper turned to look at her mother. She had never seen a pair of soulmates in the same place when the other was hurt. However, her mother didn't even react. She didn't call out, or even wince in pain, and didn't seem to notice that her husband was hurt, she just kept reading her book.

Finally, Piper couldn't take it anymore. "Dad!" she called as she slipped from her raft, moving to the edge of the pool.

Carol finally looked up. "Bill!" she exclaimed as she jumped from her seat, running to where he was seated on the ground, grasping his ankle. Piper noticed that her mother didn't even limp when she ran, she was moving normally.

"Are you alright?" Carol asked as she reached her husband.

"I think I sprained my ankle," Bill growled, rubbing his ankle. "Can you help me up?"

Carol nodded, rising to her feet and reaching to pull her husband up. As soon as Bill stood, her immediately winced in pain and raised his left foot slightly from the ground. Piper glanced over at her mother, who, as far as she could tell, was still in no pain.

XXXXXX

A few weeks later, Piper asked her grandmother about her parents.

She's spending the night with her grandmother, and the pair were sitting at the kitchen table, having a snack when she finally asks.

"Grandmother, if I ask you something, do you promise you won't get mad?" Piper asked hesitantly.

"Of course dear, what is it?"

"When Dad sprained his ankle last week, it looked pretty bad, I mean, he's still walking with a limp. But when it happened, Mom wasn't even hurt. She didn't look like she was in pain at all. After you meet your soul mate, do you stop feeling their pain?"

Grandmother sighed, looking away from Piper before turning back to her. "No Piper, even after you meet your soulmate, you still feel the pain that they feel."

Piper didn't understand. "Then why was my mom fine?"

"Because your parents aren't soulmates," Piper's grandmother said gently.

"But, but that doesn't make sense. Why would they marry each other?"

"Your mother met her soulmate when she was very young," Grandmother explained. "They were very much in love, but he was diagnosed with cancer, and he died when he was in his twenties. Your mother didn't want to spend the rest of her life alone, and she eventually met your father and fell in love, and they got married."

"What happened to Dad's soulmate?" Piper pressed.

"That I don't know," Grandmother sighed. "He has never said anything about meeting her. I would have assumed your mother was his soulmate if she hadn't told me the truth. Maybe he just got too impatient waiting for her to show up, he just decided to be with your mother."

Piper nodded, letting the conversation drop.

At thirteen, Piper Chapman vowed that she would never settle for anyone less than her soulmate.

XXXXXX

At fourteen, Piper Chapman began to communicate with her soulmate.

It was after school in the fall of her freshman year of high school, and Piper was enraged. She had gotten a C on a group project in her Biology class, and her mother had grounded her for a week. Which wasn't even fair because the parts of the project she had done had received excellent marks, it was that stupid Jimmy Aldridge who put his portion together haphazardly at the last minute. But Piper's mother wouldn't even listen, and just told her she was disappointed in her and she needed to focus more.

So Piper was in her backyard, punching the old tire swing and ignoring the pain in her knuckles as she swung her fists. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pinch against her left arm.

"Ouch," Piper yelped, stopping to examine her arm. It didn't look like she had been bitten or stung, but she knew she had felt something.

 _Oh._

Instantly, Piper knew it was her soulmate, wherever they were. She had been punching the tire swing pretty hard, her knuckles were starting to bruise. Maybe he was just letting her know that they were hurting too.

Unsure as to what to do, Piper grabbed her left arm, and squeezed. It produced a dull ache, one hopefully strong enough for her soulmate to feel, letting him know she got the message. A minute later, she felt another ache in her arm, and Piper couldn't help but smile.

From then on, Piper's soulmate would let her know whenever Piper was causing them too much pain, and Piper would do the same.

XXXXX

Piper's soulmate was an animal in bed.

Piper discovered this when she was about seventeen years old. She had lost her virginity the year before to Mark Welch. She had thought about waiting until she met her soulmate, but her friend Polly thought she was being ridiculous, and she had liked Mark well enough. Her first time had been a little painful, like everyone said it would be, but other than that, it was fine.

However, she didn't remember leaving scratch marks down Mark's back.

One morning, Piper woke up to her back feeling tender. It didn't feel like she slept wrong or pulled a muscle, but it was definitely sore when she clasped her bra or leaned back against a hard chair.

That evening, when she was changing into her pajamas, Piper checked out her back in the mirror. It was faint, but Piper thought she could make out red streaks down her back. She had no idea what it could be, so she let it slip from her mind.

A few days later, she was hanging out with her friends on a Friday night when she felt it again. This time it felt like a scratch.

"Ouch," Piper hissed, wincing as the pain spread down her back.

"What's wrong?" Polly asked from next to her.

"I keep getting this pain in my back," Piper explained. "It almost feels like I'm being scratched."

Polly's brow furrowed. "Show me."

Piper jerked her head, indicating for Polly to follow her as she stood and left the room. When they reached the hallway, Piper turned away from hallway and lifted her shirt, exposing her back.

"Holy shit," Polly gasped.

"What?"

"Those are definitely scratch marks," Polly confirmed as Piper turned to face her. "Damn, I'm jealous."

"What do you mean you're jealous?" Piper asked incredulously.

Polly rolled her eyes as if Piper was missing something obvious. "They're scratch marks Piper. Like, sex scratch marks. Meaning whoever your soulmate is knows what they're doing in bed."

Piper felt a smug smile unfurl. "I guess you're right," she admitted.

"Ugh," Polly scoffed. "Whenever you meet your soulmate, I'll have to give you a wide berth for a week so I don't have to hear about all the sex."

Piper smirks, but as Polly walks away, Piper's smile falters. It's a weird feeling, knowing that your soulmate is having sex with someone else. She never really thought about it before, but now that it was happening, she wasn't sure she liked it. She thought about pinching her arm, getting her soulmate to stop, but she decided against it. She and her soulmate hadn't really had any communication through pain in almost a year, and she felt weird about initiating it after so long. Plus, she would probably be acting like some kind of cockblock by using their old trick to interrupt sex.

So Piper went back to the party, silently dealing with the pain that she kept feeling throughout the night. Apparently her soulmate had the ability to go all night long.

* * *

 _Alex Vause_

Alex Vause didn't feel her soulmate until she's thirteen years old.

Her mom always told her that it was fine, that it was totally normal not to feel anything for a while.

"Sometimes it just takes time, babe," Diane Vause had tried to comfort Alex when she was ten, but it was hard to take her mother's words to heart, especially when everyone else seemed to have felt their soulmate. For Christ sake, two kids in her fifth grade class figured out that _they_ were each other's soulmate, and they've been inseparable ever since.

When she was twelve, Alex began to think that maybe she didn't have a soulmate. Maybe, since all of her crushes were on girls, she didn't get to have one. That there was something wrong with her that prevented it.

One day, thirteen year old Alex Vause was watching television, waiting for her mother to come home. Suddenly, her foot started throbbing. Sharp pain started radiating from her toes, a pulsing pain that felt as if she was repeatedly slamming her foot against cement.

Alex stared at her foot, wincing in pain for a few seconds before she finally figured it out.

 _It's her._

Alex knew her soulmate was a girl. She just knew, and she finally felt her.

Despite the pain, Alex was giddy, practically bouncing up and down when her mom finally came home from work. She was bursting with excitement as she told her mom that she finally felt something, that she knew she had a soulmate. Diane smiled, giving Alex an I-told-you-so look as Alex launched into extreme detail about the story that lasted more than a minute.

Alex knew she may be over exaggerating and making too big a deal out of it, but Alex didn't care. She finally felt like less of a freak.

XXXXXX

When Alex was fifteen, she snapped at her soulmate.

Most of the time, this girl that Alex was destined to be with was calm. She clearly wasn't clumsy, not like Alex, who had broken and sprained her bones multiple times throughout her childhood. She didn't seem to get into too much trouble, but every once in a while there was a flare up.

After the first time she felt her, Alex realized her soulmate had a temper. And when her temper boiled over, she often manifested it physically. Most of the time, Alex just took it, remembering the times she broke her nose and arm as a kid, and the pain her soulmate must have felt during that.

One day, however, Alex couldn't take it anymore. She had a particularly rough day at school, a presentation didn't go as well as she wanted, and Jessica Wedge made some snide remark about Alex's new glasses during their algebra class. She was feeling bloated and crampy, and was looking forward to relaxing on her couch with a hot water bottle when she felt a sharp pain in her knuckles.

She couldn't help but groan as she felt the pain, somewhat used to feeling the mysterious girl punch things. Alex tried to wait it out, however, the pain in her knuckles just kept coming, and Alex needed to make it stop. So, she did the first thing she could think of.

She grabbed her right arm, and pinched. Hard.

The sharp pain in her knuckles instantly stopped. They still felt sore, like they were about to bruise, but she knew that her soulmate had stopped punching a wall or tree or whatever the hell she hit when she was mad.

Surprisingly, Alex felt a shot of pressure in her left arm, right where she had pinched herself. It didn't hurt too much, but she was shocked that the girl responded. Alex smiled slightly as she pinched herself again lightly, hoping the girl would feel it.

Alex felt a thrill that she had a way to communicate with her soul mate, no matter how limited it seemed. It gave her the feeling that they had a connection, and that they would meet soon.

XXXXXX

When Alex was seventeen, her soulmate broke her heart for the first time.

Luckily, Alex was at home when she felt it. It was Friday night, and she hadn't been in the mood for a party, so she stayed in. She was in the middle of a good part of her book when she feels a sharp pain _down there_. She knows what that pain meant. She had heard enough girls describe their first time having sex to know, and she had heard enough guys in school describe their weird version of the pain to know that her soulmate, wherever she is, just lost her virginity.

Alex is sullen and moody when her mom gets home, and she can tell Diane instantly picks up on it.

"Are you going to tell me what's bothering you, or am I going to have to guess?" Diane asked after fifteen minutes of monosyllabic answers from her daughter.

"It's…hard to explain," Alex finally admitted quietly.

"Try me," Diane responded, sitting on the couch.

"I felt… I felt my soulmate lose her virginity," Alex said. "And, I don't know how to feel about it."

"Do you feel jealous?"

Alex shrugged. "I guess. I'm a little mad that she didn't wait for me."

"Aw, babe," Diane swung an arm around Alex's shoulders. "You can't expect her to wait for you. You have no idea when you'll finally meet."

"Yeah, but-" Alex blushed as she looked down, unable to look her mother in the eye. "I was thinking about waiting."

"You can still wait if you want," Diane replied gently.

"But _she_ didn't," Alex said, betrayal coursing through her. "It's like I wasn't important enough to wait for. I mean, Janie Fisher and Charlie Nichols have known they were soulmates since they were nine, and neither of them feel the need to screw around and experiment."

"But that's different. They've known they were meant to be together since they were kids, why would they want anyone else when they've known their soulmate for so long?"

"My soulmate knows she exists," Alex shot back.

"But you don't know who she is."

"We still manage to communicate. Whenever one of us is hurting the other, we pinch our left arm. It's our signal, and the other one knows to back off."

Diane Vause smiled widely at that. "That's really cute, Al. But even still, you haven't really met. You can't blame her for being a teenager, to wanting to experience normal teenage things. It doesn't belittle anything that you have and what you two will have."

"Hmm," Alex sighs. "I guess you're right."

Diane kissed the top of Alex as she stood. "Well, you still need some cheering up, so let's get take out and pig out on junk food."

"Okay," Alex replied, giving her mom a slight smile.

Alex decided to let go of that feeling of jealously and betrayal. However, she slowly stopped giving her soulmate a heads up whenever she was in too much pain, and her soulmate began to do the same. With the exception of the occasional bumps and bruises, Alex never felt her anymore, though she never forgot that she was out there, somewhere.

* * *

 _A/N2: So, was it original enough to continue? Do you even like it?_


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N:_** _You guys are ridiculous. Thank you so much for the amazing words of encouragement, support, and reviews! I was not expecting such a huge and overwhelming response, and each one of you have made me smile over the past week when reading your comments. You are all truly wonderful._ _  
_

 _Just a clarification: I realize that I didn't specify or clearly illustrate how old Piper and Alex are vs. when they feel each other, so I want to do that now, in case I've confused a few of you. Alex and Piper are about a year apart in age. Piper feels Alex first, when she is seven years old. However, Piper doesn't appear to get into as much trouble as Alex, so Alex doesn't feel Piper until she is older, and why she wasn't sure she had a soulmate. Alex finally feels Piper when Alex is 13 (Piper is 12), because she feels Piper kicking something hard over and over again. I probably could have lined up the timeline better to get their ages to match, but I was really drawn to the idea of Alex not feeling Piper until she was older, and feeling like a freak because of it._

 _Anyway, on to Chapter 2. I hope you all enjoy it. Let me know what you think!_

* * *

 _Hardest of Hearts Chapter 2_

Piper thought she had met her soulmate at the age of twenty-one.

She was at a college party, and was squished up against a wall with Polly. She was mostly observing, sipping on some kind of jungle juice concoction, enjoying her buzz.

Almost as if it were a scene from a movie, the crowd parted. From her spot against the wall, she could see a boy, about her height, with short curly dark brown hair. He's making his way through the crowd with some difficulty, holding on to a solo cup. Suddenly, some kid near him pushed another guy, who stumbled back into the boy weaving through the crowd.

The boy with the curly hair slammed into the wall, spilling half of his drink on himself and the ground. Ten seconds later, Piper felt a shot of pain in her left shoulder, the same shoulder the other boy hit the wall with.

 _Oh._

Piper reached to rub her shoulder at the same time as the boy did the same. For some reason, Piper thought it would be different. She had always thought you felt the pain instantly, not after a delay, but then again, Piper had never really seen how it worked first hand. But she watched that kid get hurt, and then felt his pain, so that must mean something, right?

Piper pushed herself off of the wall, beginning to make her way through the crowd to seek out the boy.

"Piper!" Polly shouted, grabbing Piper's arm and turning her around. "Where are you going?"

"I just-" Piper glanced back, making sure the boy hadn't disappeared. "See that kid over there?"

Polly craned her neck, looking around Piper to where she was pointing. "That kid against the wall? With the hair?"

"Yeah. I just saw him get shoved into that wall, and he hit his shoulder pretty hard. I think I felt that."

"What do you mean you _think_ you felt it?"

"My left shoulder, the same side that he was pushed into the wall, starting hurting. I mean, that can't be a coincidence, right?"

Polly's expression slowly changed from one of suspicion to surprise. "Wait, you think he might be your soulmate?"

Piper nodded. "Maybe. I saw him get hurt, and then I felt it. Isn't that how it works?"

"Then what the hell are you doing over here? Go talk to him!" Polly practically shoved Piper away from her.

"So you think it's a good idea?"

"Obviously," Polly said with exasperation, rolling her eyes. "Go!"

Piper flashed her best friend a smile as she moved through the party. She reached the boy as quickly as she could; like her, he was leaning against the wall, off to the side of the action. Piper exhaled deeply, it would be a lot easier to explain this without his friends hanging around him.

"Hi," Piper said loudly over the music, smiling brightly.

The boy glanced in her direction before turning back to the crowd. "Hey," he replied.

"Looking for someone?" Piper asked, slowly losing her nerve.

This time, however, the boy looked over at her, and held her gaze. "Yeah, my friend." He replied. "I went to grab a drink, and now I have no idea where he went."

"Hmm," Piper sighed, extending her hand. "I'm Piper."

The boy shifted his drink to his left hand and took her hand. "Larry," he introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you," Piper smiled.

"You too," he replied. "So, what are you doing here Piper?"

"Well, I'm at this party because my friend wanted to come, but," Piper took a deep breath. "I came over to talk to you because I saw you get shoved into the wall, and-"

"You saw that?" Larry groaned, cutting her off. "I can be so clumsy, it's embarrassing. I was always the klutzy kid when I was younger, constantly getting hurt."

Piper smiled, remembering all the times she felt him get bumps and bruises. "I know," Piper admitted quietly.

Larry looked at her like she had three heads. "What do you mean _you know_?"

"I – god this is weird to explain. This whole soulmate thing can be so ridiculous at times," Piper ranted to herself, stopping as she watched Larry's eyes widen.

"Soulmate?" He gasped.

"Um, yeah," Piper replied, shifting her weight from one foot to the next. "I saw you get shoved into the wall, and my left shoulder started hurting right after, and that can't be a coincidence, right? And you said that you've always been clumsy growing up, and I've been getting hurt because of my soulmate since I was seven, so it just fits, I guess."

"Wow," Larry smiled, turning slightly red. "I can't believe it. I've been looking for you forever. Who knew we were living so close to one another for the past four years?"

"Yeah," Piper agreed, relieved.

"Wow, I just can't believe it's you," Larry grinned. "I've been feeling you for years."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Piper apologized. "I have a bit of a temper."

Larry laughed, looking around briefly before turning back to Piper.

"I saw that they have this porch out back. Do you want to go sit out there and talk? Get to know one another without all of the music?"

Piper smiled, grabbing Larry's hand and lacing their fingers together. "Lead the way."

* * *

Piper was surprised at how easy her relationship with Larry was. They just fell together pretty naturally, and things were great for a while.

Larry was kind, though a little goofy. He like the same brass band that Piper did, they had similar views on politics and loved the same types of books. He was also completely understanding of Pipers aversion to spend holidays with her family.

Her parents approved of Larry. Carol was a member of the Women's Auxiliary Club with one of Larry's aunts, and spoke highly of her. Bill ran in the same business circles as Larry's father, a lawyer of represented several of the higher-ups in her father's company. Though she hated to admit it, she was relieved that her parents liked Larry. Piper liked to pretend that she was independent from her parents, and that she didn't need them, but she secretly craved their approval. She didn't know if she would be able to handle her parents hating her soulmate.

A few months after Piper graduated college, when she was twenty-two, she got a job at an advertisement agency in New York in the marketing department, so she moved from Northampton to an apartment in Manhattan. Larry was still living with his parents in Brooklyn, so it made keeping up their relationship much easier. They moved in together after a year of dating, and even that felt easy.

She loved Larry, and their relationship was comfortable, but some things still felt off.

Sometimes she would still feel twinges of pain. Nothing major, just bumps and bruises, but whenever she would look over to see if Larry was alright, he seemed perfectly fine.

One time she asked Larry about it.

"Are you still as klutzy as you were when you were younger?" Piper asked one night as they cuddled on the couch, watching a movie.

"Yeah, I think that's going to be one of those qualities that stay with me forever," Larry chuckled, brushing his lips against Piper's forehead.

"I don't think I've felt you get really hurt in a long time," Piper admitted. "Just little twinges of pain."

"I'm trying to be more careful now that I know that it's you who feels my pain," Larry said sweetly, and Piper turned to him, grinning.

"That's very corny," she mocked.

"Can't help it," Larry shrugged, rubbing Piper's shoulder.

However, two weeks later, Piper's elbow started smarting at work as if she had slammed her funny bone. When she asked Larry if he was alright, he acted like she had no idea what she was talking about. He just shrugged it off, saying he may have hit it during the day, but couldn't remember.

* * *

She had never really been in love before Larry, but she sometimes she wondered if it was supposed to feel different than this.

Right before her friend Elizabeth's wedding, the two girls were out to dinner.

"So, are you nervous?" Piper teased in a sing-song voice.

"No," Elizabeth scoffed. "I can't wait."

"It's great that you're so sure," Piper smiled at her friend.

"How can I not be? James just gets me, you know? I mean, don't you feel that way with Larry."

"Of course," Piper replied immediately, bristling a little at the comment. "Larry is so patient and very understanding."

"Yeah, but it's so much more than just being understanding," Elizabeth smiled. "It's like, I don't even have to say anything half of the time. If something's bothering me, James can just tell by looking at me."

"Hmm," Piper hummed as she nodded, trying to remember an instance of that happening with Larry.

"Though, just because he knows that something's wrong doesn't prevent us from fighting," Elizabeth laughed. "I'm sure you and Larry are the same way."

"Larry and I don't really fight, actually," Piper responded.

"Really? Never?" Elizabeth asked, her voice filled with disbelieve.

"No," Piper answered slowly, confused. "He's my soulmate, I don't think we're supposed to constantly fight."

"Not constantly," Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "But just because you've found your soulmate doesn't mean you aren't ever going to fight. Fighting occasionally shows that you still care about your relationship, and that you want to fix issues when they come up."

"I guess," Piper agreed slowly, her stomach sinking.

"Oh! I have to show you what I got my bridesmaids for the wedding!" Elizabeth dug through her purse to pull out her phone, and Piper was grateful for the subject change.

However, it didn't prevent her thoughts from wandering after she and Elizabeth finished dinner. She had thought her relationship with Larry was easy because they were soulmates. Elizabeth made it seem like her relationship was not normal.

* * *

When Piper was 24, everything came crashing down around her.

She had just gotten out of a marketing meeting, which had gone surprisingly well. The client was notorious for being a stubborn hard ass and extremely difficult to work with, but he agreed to all of the ideas Piper and her team proposed, barely insulting any of their advertisement ideas.

Polly and Piper decided to go out for lunch to celebrate Piper's success, and Piper quickly went to her cubicle to grab her purse. She had just sat down, opening the drawer where she kept her bag, when she felt the pain.

It was unlike anything she had ever felt before. Piper felt as if her entire body had just been slammed against a brick wall. She cried out softly as pain ripped through her right leg, as if all the bones in it had been shattered. Her left wrist began to throb like it did when she was ten and Larry broke his wrist.

 _Larry_

"Oh God!" Piper gasped, grabbing her purse and digging through it wildly for her phone. She had to make sure he was okay. This pain made her feel like Larry wasn't okay, like he was seriously hurt somewhere.

"Hey Piper, are you ready… Piper what's wrong?" Piper felt a hand on her shoulder, and she jerked away, turning around to face Polly.

"I think Larry's really hurt," Piper choked out, tears welling in her eyes.

"Why? How do you know?" Polly tried to soothe her.

"Because I can _feel_ it Polly, obviously!" Piper snapped. "My entire body hurts. My leg feels like it's been smashed into a million pieces, and look!" she held up her left wrist, watching Polly's eyes widen as a bruise began to flower. "my wrist is bruised. Something is really wrong, and I need to call him."

"Okay," Polly nodded as Piper grabbed her phone. "Call him right now."

Piper held her breath as she dialed Larry's number and waited for the call to connect. On the third ring, she felt someone answer.

"Hey Piper," Larry's cheerful voice carried over the phone. "What's up? How did your meeting go?"

"Larry!" Piper sobbed, unsure whether to be relieved that Larry sounded fine, or confused as to why he would be acting like nothing was wrong when he was clearly in pain.

"Piper, what's wrong? Have you been crying?"

"Are… are you okay?" Piper stuttered out between gasps.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just handed in a project at work, and now I have to meet with my editor, but other than that, I'll be fine."

"So you aren't hurt or anything?" Piper asked.

"No, I'm not hurt. What's going on Piper?" Larry asked, worry evident in his voice.

"Nothing," Piper responded as she wiped away her tears. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yup," Piper forced lightness into her voice. "I'm just going to head to lunch with Polly. I'll talk to you tonight."

"Love you."

"Love you too," Piper replied softly, forcing back a well of fresh tears as she hung up the phone.

"So, what's wrong?" Polly asked as soon as Piper put her phone in her purse.

"Nothing," Piper said, her mind going a mile a minute. "He said he was fine."

"Are you sure? Was he maybe trying to be all macho?"

"No, he said he just handed in an assignment, and is heading to a meeting with his editor. It sounds like he's just at work."

"Then why are you in pain and have a bruise on your wrist?" Polly pressed.

"I don't know," Piper looked up at her best friend, her eyes wide. "I have no idea."

But she needed to figure it out.

* * *

When Larry got home from work at six o'clock, Piper was there waiting for him.

She was sitting on the couch, shaking her leg as she held back tears. This was going to be impossible, but she had to do it.

"Hey Piper," Larry grinned, moving towards her. He bent down and kissed her quickly before moving to put his bag and shoes in the hall closet. "How's it going?"

"Uh," Piper could feel her voice shaking, so she switched tactics. "Do you want a beer?"

"Sure," Larry called as he moved into their bedroom to change into more casual clothes. As Piper moved into the kitchen, she silently prayed that Larry wouldn't open her closet door. She couldn't start this conversation like that.

"The meeting with my editor went really well, he liked my work," Larry chattered on as Piper grabbed a beer out of the fridge and moved slowly back to the living room.

"That's great Larry," Piper sighed, finally coming into Larry's sight.

"Yeah, I think it's going to get published-" Larry stopped speaking, his eyes widening as he studied Piper's movements. "What happened!" Larry exclaimed, gesturing to Piper and her slight limp as she handed him his drink and sat back on the couch.

"Nothing happened to me Larry," Piper said softly. "I'm fine."

"What are you talking about? You're limping! Something clearly happened!"

"Nothing happened to _me,_ " Piper repeated softly, her eyes welling up with tears again.

"But that doesn't make sense, because I didn't feel anything. If you were seriously hurt, I should have felt something,"

"Larry," Piper said loudly, and Larry immediately quieted, staring at Piper with wide eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked gently.

"I-I-I don't know how to do this," Piper stuttered.

"Do what?"

"Nothing happened to _me,"_ Piper repeated, trying to be strong. "But when I was getting ready to go to lunch with Polly, I just felt this _incredible_ pain. I felt my leg and arm break, and my entire body aches. But I was just sitting at my desk."

"What do you mean?" Piper could practically see Larry trying to work everything out in his head, and it only made the tears fall more quickly. "So you felt someone get hurt, but it wasn't you? Like the soulmate thing?"

Piper opened her mouth to speak, but let out a gasping sob. Piper covered her mouth with her hand, nodding slightly instead.

"But," Larry swallowed heavily, his eyes now glistening with tears. "I'm fine. Nothing happened to me."

"I know," Piper rasped, reaching out to grab her boyfriend's hand and squeezing tightly.

"I don't understand. What does this mean?"

 _God, why does he have to make me say it_ , Piper thought as she swallowed back another sob. "I don't think we're meant to be together," Piper choked out before bursting into tears.

Larry reached for her, and Piper sank willingly into his arms, grasping at his shirt. She had no idea how to do this; how to let go of everything she thought she knew and loved. She didn't understand how she could have been so wrong throughout the last three years.

After a while, Piper lifted her head from Larry's shoulder, wiping tears from her cheeks.

"This just doesn't make sense," Larry said softly. "You _saw_ me hit the wall at that party in college. You _felt_ it."

"Maybe I didn't," Piper said softly.

"But you even said that it couldn't be a coincidence," Larry shot back.

"It must have been," Piper whispered, staring at Larry with wide eyes. "There's no way I would be in this much pain for any other reason."

"But we're happy," Larry half whined, wiping at his face.

"I know," Piper cried, looking down at her lap. "I know."

"I was going to ask you to marry me on your birthday next month," Larry admitted tearfully.

Piper's head snapped up. "What?"

"I was going to propose. We were soulmates," Larry looked up, his face suddenly determined. "We can still be together."

Piper looked at Larry disbelievingly. "What?"

"We could still be together," Larry repeated. "We don't know who our soulmates are yet. We love each other, and we're happy together. We could still stay together until we meet other people."

"Larry," Piper began to protest, but Larry cut her off.

"Piper, why should we throw away all of this history, all of this love, for people we haven't met yet?"

Piper looked at Larry, really considering the possibility. He was completely right. She loved Larry, she was so, so happy with him. Why should she be miserable and alone for the indefinite future, just hoping someone would come along, when she could be with someone she loved?

She was about to open her mouth to agree that she was being stupid, that _of course_ she and Larry should stay together, when her mind flashed to her parents.

Her parents, who knew they weren't meant to be together, but got married anyway. Who were probably in love and happy when they were first married, but can now only fake happiness, her father having affairs with any woman he can manage and her mother living her life avoiding anything unpleasant. Their relationship clearly didn't start out that terrible, but it grew into one of resentment.

"No," Piper said softly, moving to stand from the couch.

"What?" Larry asked disbelievingly.

"No," Piper said loudly, beginning to cry again. "My parents knew they weren't soulmates and stayed together anyway. Now they're miserable. I can't be like them. I refuse to be like them."

"But we wouldn't-" Larry began, but Piper interrupted him.

"You don't know that," Piper insisted as she walked toward their bedroom, needing to grab her suitcases, which were packed and waiting for her in the closet. "No one actually wants to be in that kind of relationship. But it happens. I love you Larry, but we aren't meant to be together. We can't change it or force it."

She opened her closet, grabbed her suitcases, and moved back into the living room. Larry was standing there, his face crumpled as he cried, trying to find an excuse for Piper to stay. "But I love you."

Piper's heart just kept feeling like it was breaking, piece by piece. "I love you too," she stepped closer to him, kissing him gently before wrapping her arms around him and holding on tight. "But we aren't meant to be together," she whispered into his ear.

Larry nodded into Piper's shoulder, kissing the side of her face before backing away. "I'm going to miss you," he admitted.

"I'll miss you too. So much," Piper backed toward the door, reaching for her suitcases. "I –uh- I guess I'll see you around."

Larry nodded, but didn't speak as her turned and walked toward the kitchen.

Piper pulled the apartment key off of her key ring, leaving it on the hall table as she quickly left the apartment for the last time. It took everything in her not to cry the minute she got into a taxi and directed the cabbie to Polly's apartment. She couldn't believe what was happening. She couldn't believe that she had been so wrong.

She was so convinced she was meant to be with Larry, so much so that she was still doubting what she had done. Piper steeled herself at that thought. Larry wasn't her soulmate. She had made a terrible mistake, and ended up hurting not only herself, but someone she loved in the process.

It was then, in a taxi heading to the West Village, that Piper promised herself she would never do that again. She would never blindly trust her feelings or ideals, her fantasies about meeting her soulmate, because look where it got her.

Piper was a lone wolf. Until she knew who her soulmate was with one hundred percent certainty, she would be alone.

* * *

 _Don't worry, Larry will not be a recurring character. Piper is in a very particular head space for the rest of this story, and using Larry was a good way to set it up. Hope you liked it!  
_


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Thank you all so much for your awesome reviews and support! The fact that so many of you are invested really does motivate me to keep writing. I hope you like this update, let me know what you think!_

* * *

Chapter 3

It had been four months, and most of the time, Piper was sure she was over it. She had moved off of Polly's couch and into her own apartment. She had gotten a dog, a raise at work, and life was good.

But when Piper Chapman woke up this morning, she had briefly broken down.

Today was their three year anniversary, her and Larry's. Three years today she had met Larry at a college party, confident in the fact that she had just met her soulmate.

She and Larry would have been engaged today if she had never felt someone else get seriously injured. If thinks hadn't gotten turned upside down, they would still be together and she would be engaged. The moment Larry had let it slip that he was going to propose, Piper knew she would have said yes, and they would be planning a wedding right now.

Three years ago today, Piper thought she had met her soulmate and her forever. Now all Piper had was a crappy one bedroom SoHo apartment and a dog that would still occasionally pee all over the hallway.

After crying in her room for five minutes, Piper finally pulled herself together enough to do her makeup, making sure she put on waterproof mascara just in case.

"Huck!" Piper called as she entered her living room, glancing around for her dog as she made her way into the kitchen. "Come here bud!"

Finally, she found him in the corner of her kitchen, gnawing on one of her running shoes. "Huck!" she exclaimed, quickly moving to the white and brown terrier and snatching her shoe away. "No shoes!" she scolded as she lifted up her dog, grabbing some treats and toys and placing him in his crate. With one last scratch behind the ears, Piper closed the crate.

"Have a good day Huck," she said quietly to her dog. "I'll be home soon."

Standing, Piper glanced at her watch. "Shit!" she swore under her breath. Piper was running late. Really late. She grabbed her keys and her purse, practically running out of her apartment, trying to move as quickly as possible and bracing herself for the throngs on New York City commuters on the sidewalk.

At least Piper Chapman was confident her day couldn't get any worse.

* * *

Piper barely managed to get to work on time, sliding into her desk chair at 9:07. She looked around her small department office, trying to determine whether anyone noticed her getting in a little late. As she snuck a peak around the office, she noticed that the usual empty desk that formerly belonged to Kent Berkley had a stack of files on the desk.

 _Right,_ Piper remembered. _The new Marketing Coordinator is starting today._

"Hey Piper," a voice floated through the office. Piper spun around, smiling at Gemma, one of her coworkers.

"Hey!" Piper greeted her friend. "How was your weekend?"

"Eh," Gemma shrugged. "The usual. How about you? Are you ready for to meet the new person this morning?"

"My weekend was pretty quiet," Piper replied before groaning. "And I hate department meetings. And I especially hate them when we have to introduce ourselves to new staff members. So uncomfortable."

"I know," Gemma commiserated. "See you in the boardroom?"

Piper nodded. "Save me a seat!" she called to her coworker as she checked her email. She quickly responded to an email from her boss that was flagged as important, gathered her notebook and some file folders, and made her way to the conference room.

The conference room was about three quarters of the way full by the time Piper made it, sliding into her seat next to Gemma. She gave her friend a small smile as her boss, Mr. Russo, stood and began the meeting.

Piper diligently took notes through most of the women, scribbling rapidly across her notebook. After a half an hour, it seemed as if the meeting was wrapping up, and Piper finally put down her pen, sighing in relief.

"And right before we wrap this meeting up," Mr. Russo began. "I would like to introduce you to our new marketing coordinator. Though quite young, she certainly impressed the marketing department of Kel and Company in her previous position, and we are very fortunate to have her on staff. I would like to introduce you all to Alex Vause." Mr. Russo gestured to his left, where a girl, probably about Piper's age, was sitting.

For some unknown reason, Piper was instantly intrigued by this Alex Vause. Her long, jet black hair hung straight down past her shoulders, and she gave the crowd a slight smirk as she briefly fidgeted with her secretary glasses, before waving to the crowd.

"Hello," she paused. "Everyone."

"I will take Alex around this morning to introduce her to the company, especially those in the marketing department," Russo smiled at the room before clapping his hands together. "Alright, that's enough for this morning. Have a good day!"

Piper stood quickly, making her way out of the conference room. She glanced back quickly for one last glimpse of Alex Vause, and was surprised to find the new girl staring back at her. Alex raised her eyebrows slightly, her smirk widening, and Piper quickly turned her attention back towards the exit, a blush spreading across her cheeks.

* * *

About an hour later, Piper was fully engrossed in her work. One of the marketing executives had put out a new advertising campaign for a major makeup company six months ago, and had given Piper the task of monitoring its effectiveness. Piper was scrutinizing the sales figures so closely that she had totally tuned out everything around her.

"As you can see, Miss Chapman is clearly very focused," a voice suddenly said in her cubicle, and Piper jumped in shock.

"Oh my god!" she gasped, spinning around to see Mr. Russo standing there with Alex Vause. Her face turned bright red as she stuttered out an explanation. "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention. I was looking over sales figures for a client of Mr. Henniker, and you startled me."

"Don't worry about it Piper," Mr. Russo chuckled, smiling gently. "I'm glad you're so focused. I just wanted to stop in and introduce you to Alex; she'll be sitting in the cubicle just across from you."

"Of course," Piper smiled, standing quickly, and turning to Alex, whose smirk seemed to be a permanent facial feature. "It's so nice to meet you." Piper stepped forward, extending her hand.

"Likewise," Alex Vause husked back, grabbing Piper's hand. What felt like a shock passed between their joined hands, and Piper jerked her hand back almost immediately.

"Ouch!" Piper hissed. "Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it," the dark haired girl laughed, pointing down at her right leg. "I'm pretty sure it's actually my fault. Probably something to do with the boot."

Piper followed Alex's hand down, for the first time noticing the air cast covering her right leg and ankle. "Oh my god! What happened?"

"Severely broke my right fibula in two places a while ago," Alex shrugged. "It's a long story."

"I'm sorry," Piper apologized, unsure as to what else to say.

"Piper," Mr. Russo cut in. "Alex is just a year older than you. It may be nice if you took her out to lunch this afternoon, help her feel more at home in the office?"

Piper turned to Mr. Russo. "Of course, sir, I would love to," she smiled before turning back to Alex. "Does one work for you?"

"One o'clock is great," Alex gave Piper her first genuine smile.

"Perfect," the blonde replied.

"Alright, now back to work Chapman," Mr. Russo joked as he led Alex out of her cubicle and into the adjoining one.

* * *

Piper was nervous.

Mr. Russo had asked her to take Alex out to lunch to make her feel more at home, and Piper was failing miserably. Gemma was apparently meeting her boyfriend for lunch, Steven, another marketing associate, had taken a half day, and Piper didn't know anyone else well enough to ask them to lunch. She had even called Polly, who worked in the Communications department, but she had a lunch meeting, and couldn't make it. So, it appeared that it would just be Piper and Alex Vause at lunch today.

"Hey, you ready?" Alex called from her cubicle, grabbing her bag and moving slowly towards Piper, a slight limp in her step.

"Yup," Piper replied, grabbing her wallet and turning to smile at Alex.

"So," Alex began as they made their way towards the elevator. "Where to?"

"I was thinking this little café down the street," Piper responded as they stepped inside, hitting the button for the ground floor. "It has really great sandwiches and salads."

"Sounds good," Alex nodded.

They walked the rest of the way in silence, Piper sneaking glances at Alex when she thought she wouldn't get caught. Alex was slightly taller than her, and Piper was secretly thrilled to find someone her height. Alex's clothes were professional, but slightly edgy; her conservative white blouse was tucked into a pair of tight khaki pants, a leather jacket completing the look. Even from her brief time knowing Alex, Piper knew she was different than anyone she had ever known.

* * *

"And can I get this on whole grain?" Piper asked the waitress, who was scribbling her sandwich order furiously.

"Yes miss," the waitress nodded.

"And instead of the French fries, is there any way I can get a garden salad?"

"You can, but it's two dollars for substitutions."

"That's fine," Piper smiled at the server.

"Anything else?"

"No, that's everything, thank you," Piper turned to Alex as the server walked away, her smiling falling slightly as she met Alex's gaze. "What?"

"I don't think I've heard a more WASP-y order in my life," Alex snickered.

"What do you mean?" Piper said softly, her cheeks flushing.

"You ordered a grilled chicken sandwich on whole wheat bread, and asked the waitress if the chicken was white meat and if the tomatoes were organic. What else would you call that?"

"I-I-"Piper stuttered, completely thrown off. "Are you saying it was a difficult order?"

"I'm just saying, I would check that sandwich for spit before eating it."

Piper's eyes widened. "You think she'll spit in my food?"

Alex laughed loudly. "I think you're safe kid, I was just kidding."

"Okay," Piper sighed.

Alex cocked her head, studying Piper. It made her feel self-conscious.

"What?" the blonde asked.

"Nothing," Alex shook her head.

"Then why were you looking at me like that?" Piper demanded.

"It's nothing. It's just," Alex trailed off, adjusting her glasses slightly before continuing. "You just seem a little down. Is everything alright?"

Piper felt her jaw drop slightly; she hadn't been expecting that. "What do you mean I seem down? Am I being that obvious?"

Alex turned her gaze to the table, readjusting her silverware before making eye contact with Piper again. "I don't know. I don't think it's obvious, but you just seem sad. I can't explain it."

Piper looked at Alex warily before softening her gaze and nodding slightly. "Today is not a good day." Piper admitted.

"You wanna talk about it?" Alex asked.

Piper shrugged. "Today was my supposed to be my anniversary. And if I was still in a relationship, I would be engaged right now. It's just a tough realization."

"Why aren't you in a relationship anymore?"

Piper scoffed. "That's a long story."

"Well, it's a good thing I'm stuck with you for the next forty-five minutes," Alex shot back dryly.

"Oh, right," Piper sighed. "I just feel really stupid."

"You aren't stupid." Alex replied immediately, some unknown emotion I her voice. "Why do you think that?"

"I thought I met my soulmate when I was twenty-one," Piper practically whispered.

"Uh oh, what happened? What made you think he was your soulmate?"

"I didn't just make it up," Piper snapped instinctively before backing off. "Sorry, everyone in my life has been asking the same question in such a condescending way, it's starting to grate on me."

Alex shook her head. "It was my fault, I won't make another comment."

"I was at a college party when I was twenty-one, and I was just kind of standing off to the side with one of my friends. I saw this guy get pushed into a wall, and I could have sworn I felt him get hurt. So, in a surge of drunken confidence, I went up and talked to him."

"What happened?"

"We started dating, and everything was great. We were together for almost three years."

Alex furrowed her brow. "Then what went wrong? If you're soulmates, shouldn't you be together now?"

Piper smiled sadly. "That's the worst part. Apparently, it was just a coincidence."

"How does that even make sense?"

"A few months ago, I was at work, and I felt this horrible pain. I instinctively knew that Larry was hurt, so I called him, all frantic. He was totally fine, he said that he was just sitting at his office chair."

"So you broke up with him because you knew he wasn't your soulmate?" Alex asked slowly. When Piper nodded, Alex continued. "Even though you two were happy."

"I thought about staying with him," Piper replied. "Larry suggested it, right after telling me he was going to propose, which may be what made me consider it. We loved each other, and we were content, so I really considered it. But then I thought about it, and how unhappy my…people I've known become without their soulmates, and I just couldn't go through with it."

They were quiet for a moment as the waitress came back with their sandwiches. As they murmured their thanks, Piper noticed that Alex looked undecided about something. It was brief, and after a second, that vulnerability was wrong. With her expression slightly determined, Piper watched as Alex slowly stretched her arm across the table, rubbing Piper's wrist gently. "It's good you broke up with him."

Piper looked at Alex with wide eyes. "I know. Most of the time I'm okay, but sometimes, I just feel kind of isolated. Today's been especially tough. I just keep thinking that if whoever my real soulmate is had never been hurt, Larry and I would be planning a wedding right now. And I would probably be really happy. It's weird to think how much has changed in four month."

"I get that," Alex nodded. "But remember, you do have someone out there for you, just focus on that, not how great you were with your ex-boyfriend."

"I'll try," Piper forced a smile. "Now, enough about me. Are you seeing anyone?"

"Nope," Alex shook her head, grinning. "Relationships aren't really my thing. At least not right now."

"What about when you meet your soulmate? You wouldn't want to be in a relationship with him?"

"When I meet _her,_ " the older girl stressed the pronoun while studying Piper. Piper was surprised, but kept her facial expression impassive; she just nodded along with what Alex was saying. Alex, seemingly satisfied with Piper's lack of response, continued. "Then I'll want to be with her. I've just never seen the point in dating someone you know isn't meant for you."

"Really?" Piper asked, shocked. "Not even for the experience?"

"Nope," Alex shook her head. "Growing up, I felt like a freak. I didn't feel my soulmate until I was thirteen years old, and by then, I was the only one in my school who hadn't. I spent a while thinking that I wasn't given a soulmate because I liked girls instead of boys, so when I finally felt her, I was so happy and relieved. The fear that I was going to be alone forever, and the relief of finally knowing I had a soulmate kind of deterred me from wanting to be in pointless relationships. I think when I meet her, I'll know," Alex concluded confidently.

"Wow," Piper replied after a moment. "I wish I could be as sure as you."

"It takes a lot of practice," Alex joked.

"Hmm," Piper hummed. "I definitely get the not wanting to waste your time thing now. After everything that happened with Larry, I just don't think I can be with someone unless I know that it's the real thing. But I can't imagine not dating when you were in high school or college."

"Well, I'm a big fan of casual relationships," Alex laughed. "I'm not a nun. I just don't see the point in meaningless relationships."

"Gotcha," Piper nodded, looking for a way to change the subject. "This may be rude, but what happened to your leg?"

"Oh, I was in a really bad car accident a while ago."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Alex nodded. "I was heading home to visit my mom, when some idiot driving the other way on the road swerved to avoid a pothole. He went way over the yellow line, and didn't correct soon enough. I tried to break, but he slammed right into me."

"Wow," was all Piper could say.

"Yeah, I sprained my wrist pretty bad on impact, and broke my tibia in two places. I had to have surgery to reset the bone, and the orthopedic surgeon was such an asshole. You know what he said to me? That my leg wouldn't have been broken if I just let the car hit me."

"What?" Piper exclaimed. Somewhere in the back of her mind was this nagging voice that this story felt familiar in some way. She didn't remember reading about a car accident or anything like that in the paper or seeing it on the news in the past couple of months, but Piper felt as if she had already known or heard this story before. Piper shook her head slightly, focusing on the present conversation. "Your doctor said that to you?"

"I know, right," the brunette laughed. "He said that by slamming on the break, I tensed and locked my leg in place, so it snapped when the other car hit me. So, if you're ever find yourself about to be a part of a head on collision, just go against every instinct to step on the break, and just relax and let the other car hit you."

Piper laughed loudly. "I'll keep that in mind, thank you."

"I do what I can to help," Alex shrugged.

* * *

Piper liked Alex. She was easy to talk to, and helped put Piper at ease about not only her disastrous love life, but her job and her career in marketing. Alex had a lot more real world smarts than Piper had, and it was easy for Piper to see why Alex was hired as a coordinator rather than an associate like herself, even if they were practically the same age.

They were chatting idly on their way back from lunch, a lunch which Alex insisted on paying for, saying that Piper was practically strong-armed into eating lunch with her, so the least Alex could do was pay.

"Thank you again for lunch," Piper said for the third time as they stepped off of the elevator. "You really didn't have to buy me lunch."

"Seriously, stop thanking me," Alex replied, feigning exasperation.

"Okay," Piper laughed, both women slowing as they approached their cubicles. "Lunch was great, it was nice getting to know you."

"You too," Alex smiled, the first smile Piper had seen that wasn't tinted with a smirk or sarcasm.

"Good luck on the rest of your first day," Piper grinned, turning to head into her cube.

"Piper," Alex's voice stopped her, and Piper turned back to face her coworker. Piper could see several emotions across Alex's face. A forced calm and impassiveness sealed off most of what Alex was feeling. However, the brunette's wide eyes showed the cracks in her mask, and Piper could tell she was feeling self-conscious.

"This may be incredibly lame," Alex began, fidgeting with her glasses in what Piper was coming to realize was a nervous gesture. "But, would you be interested in getting drinks or something after work sometime?"

"Sure, of course," Piper smiled kindly.

"I've just," Alex stopped suddenly, shaking her head. "I've never really had an easy time meeting friends. And I feel like I just made myself into some kind of freak by admitting that."

"Alex, don't worry about it," Piper ran a soothing hand up Alex's arm, hoping to be reassuring. "Trust me, I'm like the worst at meeting friends. Outside of Polly and Gemma, I don't have a huge friend base. I'd always be up for another friend."

Alex cheeks turned red as she nodded, her gaze focused on the floor. "Sounds good," the older girl replied quietly, lifting her head and offering Piper a small smile. "Have a good afternoon Piper."

"You too," Piper replied as Alex turned towards her cube.

Piper entered her own cube with a grin. She liked Alex. In just a few hours of knowing each other, Alex seemed to understand that Piper was having a hard time today, and managed to make her feel better. She didn't know what made her spill some of the more personal aspects of her life to a virtual stranger, but Piper was glad she did.

Piper thought that she would like being Alex Vause's friend.


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: Once again, thank you all for the wonderful feedback, you guys are amazing! Let me know what you think!**_

* * *

Chapter 4

Alex had never had a lot of friends.

She had a couple of good friends from college, both girls and guys, but they were slow building friendships. Alex had always felt like an outsider, had always been picked on in elementary and middle school, really stunted her in the friendship department.

But even Alex Vause, who had minimal friendship experience, knew that her friendship with Piper Chapman had developed awfully fast.

After their first lunch, which ended on an awkward note because of Alex's bumbling, Piper often stopped by Alex's cubicle to see how she was doing. At the end of Alex's first week, Piper invited her out to lunch with her friends Polly and Gemma. While she and Polly had a mutual distaste for one another, Alex and Gemma got along pretty well, which Alex hoped meant an easy relationship with her other coworkers.

In a show of good will, Alex showed up to work this past Monday with two coffees, depositing one on the desk of a very surprised Piper. On Tuesday, Piper returned the favor, mumbling about how Alex was too nice and Piper had to make up for it.

She wasn't quite sure what it was about Piper Chapman, but Alex felt like she couldn't get enough of her. Alex didn't normally go for straight girls, she actually tried to avoid all drama that straight girls bring, and she wasn't even sure she was into Piper like that. Sure, Piper was exactly her type: tall, blonde, wide eyed, and slightly naïve, but it was more than that. Piper was just someone she just clicked with. She liked chatting with her at lunch, grabbing coffee together, and just hanging around each other.

It was Friday, and Alex entered the building with her extra-large black coffee, and a nonfat vanilla latte for Piper. Making a bee line for Piper's desk, Alex was unsurprised that Piper was already at her desk and typing furiously, even though it was only quarter to nine.

"You're here early," Alex said by way of greeting as she entered Piper's cubicle, placing the latte on her desk. "For you."

"Alex," Piper grinned as she spun around, her eyes wide as she noticed the coffee. "You really need to stop doing this," Piper continued, her cheeks flushing slightly.

"Nah," Alex shook her head. "I'm kind of liking this back and forth. I get free coffee this way."

"But you buy two coffees the day before, so you really aren't getting anything for free," Piper challenged.

"Maybe, but I get to have a cute blonde bring it to me now," Alex shot back, winking at Piper.

"Shut up," Piper rolled her eyes, her cheeks reddening again.

"I was kind of hoping for a thank you, but okay," Alex laughed.

"Thank you," Piper said quietly, her voice filled with sincerity.

"Anytime Pipes," Alex smiled. "Have a good morning."

Alex turned to head towards her own cubicle, but turned when Piper called back to her. "Hey, Alex?"

Alex turned, cocking her eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Um," Piper looked down at her desk for a moment before raising her gaze to Alex. "A group of people from the office are heading over to Cleary's tonight after work for a couple of drinks. Do you want to come?"

Alex nodded. "Sure, sounds fun."

"Great," Piper smiled.

"Great," Alex echoed.

* * *

"Hey, you ready?" Piper asked, leaning against the wall of Alex's cubicle.

"Yup," Alex replied, turning off her monitor and grabbing her bag. Making their way towards the elevator, Alex asked. "So, is this going out for drinks thing a regular occurance?"

"Kind of," Pipe shrugged. "We usually go out at the end of every month. You know, kind of a celebratory thing."

"Gotcha," Alex nodded. "And how was your meeting?"

"It went pretty well, I think the client is going to sign," Piper smiled, glancing at Alex. Noticing that Alex was about half a foot behind her, Piper slowed her normally brisk pace to match Alex's.

"Sorry," Alex muttered, trying to pick up her limping pace. "The boot is a pain in the ass and slows me down. But that's great Piper, I'm glad the client's happy."

"No, I'm sorry," Piper replied. "So, when do you get the boot off anyway?"

"Three more weeks," Alex smiled. "I can't fucking wait."

* * *

A little over an hour later, and Alex was standing by the bar, standing on the fringes of the group and chatting with Piper. Glancing around the bar, Alex accidentally made eye contact with a guy across the bar. This was about the fourth time it had happened since she arrived, however, she was pretty sure the guy wasn't checking her out.

"Hey Pipes, it looks like you've got an admirer," Alex elbowed Piper, nodding her head towards the man across the bar, who grinned when he made eye contact with Piper.

"Hmm," smiled Piper. "He's kind of cute."

"Huh," Alex sighed, taking a good look at the stranger. He was tall, with styled short brown hair, wearing a collared white shirt, navy tie and brown suit pants. Based on his appearance, Alex was almost positive the man worked for one of the financial companies in the area. "Wouldn't have pictured tall, dark, and douchy to be your type," Alex sniggered.

"Shut up," Piper exclaimed. "They usually aren't. But I've been single for four months, so…" Piper let her voice trail off, raising her brows suggestively.

"Feeling a little lonely, are we?" Alex laughed.

"In a sense, yes," Piper laughed.

"Maybe you should go do something about that then. He definitely seems interested."

"I don't think so," Piper shook her head, smiling.

"Why not? Did you take a vow of celibacy along with your mission to wait for your soulmate?"

"Sex just complicates everything," Piper replied.

"Who knows, maybe he is your soulmate," Alex shrugged. "If you want, I could go over there and shove him to the ground. If you feel him fall, then you know it's him."

"Shut up," Piper said flippantly.

"Seriously kid, you need to let loose. Just go talk to him, live a little."

Piper glanced at the man, who was staring at her and smiling, before turning back to Alex. "You really think I should?"

"Go for it," Alex gently encouraged.

Piper took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. "Okay. I'm going to do it."

"Go gettem, champ," Alex laughed.

"Thanks," Piper smiled, moving through the bar to where the guy was standing.

Alex watched the interaction for a moment. The guy was clearly interested, pulling out a megawatt smile and lightly touching Piper's arm as he ordered her a drink. Alex couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealously as she watched Piper flirt, however, she quickly shook it off. Alex had no right to be jealous of Piper for who she was; Alex had learned that about herself a while ago.

Alex scanned the bar, her gaze falling on a girl with dark blonde hair in a tight dress. The girl made eye contact with Alex, smiling suggestively at her as she raised her drink.

 _Well, I may as well get some action too,_ Alex thought, moving her way through the bar and towards the stranger, gearing up for a long night.

* * *

It was five thirty on a Wednesday night, and Alex was desperately trying to finish this project. It was due tomorrow at noon, but Alex would rather just power through and finish it rather than stop now and try to finish it in the morning. However, she was meeting with an old friend at 630 for dinner and drinks, so Alex was really on a time crunch.

"Alex?" a voice floated from the end of her cubicle. Alex glanced up, seeing Piper standing there in athletic shorts and a tank top. "What are you still doing here?"

Alex barely took the time to register how little Piper was wearing, which was a clear indication as to how much pressure she was feeling, as she turned back to her computer. "I need to wrap up this project that's due tomorrow at noon, so I'm trying to bang out as much as I can so I don't have to stress tomorrow," Alex answered, typing furiously. "And what about you? I thought I saw you leave for the night."

"Nope," Piper replied lightly, taking a step into Alex's cubicle. "The company has a running club on Wednesday nights; I just ran out to get changed."

"Gotcha," Alex answered, still focused on her computer screen.

"Do you need any help?" Piper offered. "I could skip running club tonight and help you finish your project?"

Alex shook her head. "No, I'm fine. Go enjoy your running club."

"Are you sure?" Piper repeated. "I really don't mind."

"Seriously Pipes, I'm fine," Alex looked up from the screen. "If I'm still here when you get back, then you can help if you want. Deal?"

Piper smiled. "Deal. See you in a bit."

Alex groaned. "Hopefully not."

Forty five minutes later, and Alex was still at her desk. She had just called Nicky to cancel, sincerely apologizing for the last minute cancellation, and had to listen to Nicky rant about how corporate America had ruined Alex before she was able to hang up. Now, she just wanted to pull her hair out as she stared at her screen. She needed to come up with a few different catch phrases for a dog food commercial, but she was totally stuck. And now was definitely hungry as well.

"Well, look who's still here," Piper said, and Alex looked up to find a sweaty, wind blown Piper leaning against the wall, panting slightly.

"Don't remind me," Alex replied darkly, and Piper laughed, making her way into Alex's space and sitting in the extra chair.

"Hopefully I can make it better," Piper smiled. "I'm here to help."

"Thanks," Alex smiled, and began to outline what she was trying to finish.

They worked in silence for a while, only interrupted by Piper asking questions about the project and for clarification. Eventually, they managed to wrap it up around 8, and both girls slowly stood.

"Thanks for all of your help tonight," Alex said as they made their way out of the building. "It was a big help, and I'm sure it was not your ideal way to spend your night."

Piper shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I had nothing better to do tonight anyway, and I got to learn a lot."

"Really?"

"Yeah. If they ever promote me from a marketing associate to a coordinator, I'll know what to expect." Piper began to grin wickedly. "Plus, I now have an insight into the mind of the brilliant Alex Vause."

"You're such a dork," Alex laughed, turning to grin at Piper. "And I'm sure they'll promote you soon. You are very good at what you do."

"Thank you," Piper said quietly, looking down at the pavement. Alex couldn't help but smile at the blush that spread across Piper's cheeks.

"However, that means you will no longer have my genius supervising you," Alex chuckled at her own joke.

"I know," Piper sighed, feigning disappointment. "It will definitely be a loss. However, if I ever get promoted, we would be just regular coworkers in case of you technically being my boss."

"Well, that would be a shame," Alex said gravely before smiling, stopping in front of the subway entrance. "Well, this is me. Are you good to go home?"

"Yeah," Piper nodded. "I'm just going to take a cab home."

"Thank you again for your help tonight Piper," Alex said sincerely. "You really saved my ass tonight."

"No problem," Piper smiled.

"Seriously, kid, I owe you one."

"Really?" Piper asked, a smirk unfurling across her face. "Because I have an idea."

"What is it?" Alex asked cautiously.

"When you get your boot off in three weeks, you come running with me one Wednesday night at running club."

"Ha," Alex laughed, shaking her head. "No way in hell."

"C'mon," Piper whined, drawing out the word. "Just once?"

"You're out of your mind Pipes," Alex laughed, beginning to make her way down the stairs. "See you tomorrow! Thanks again!"

"Bye Alex!" the blonde called after her, and Alex glanced back in time to see Piper get into a taxi. Alex shook her head incredulously as she slowly limped her way down the subway stairs.

Piper Chapman was something else.

* * *

Alex didn't know why she was doing it. Why she was currently dressed the way she was, and what possessed her to buy new running shoes for the first time in five years. Well, she did, but she prefered not to think about it. Thinking about what she was about to do and why would make it painfully obvious that Alex had a straight girl crush, and Alex refused to be that person. She didn't have pointless crushes on people, she was waiting for someone who mattered.

Heading back towards her cubicle, Alex practically ran into Piper. She smiled, instinctively reaching for Piper's arm to steady her. "Hey Piper. I haven't seen you in a few days."

Piper bent down, picking up the clothes that had fallen when she bumped into Alex. "I know, I feel like I've been swamped the past few days. Today, for example, I was stuck in a meeting all day just taking notes."

"Ugh, that's rough." Alex smiled mischievously, wondering how long it would take for Piper to notice.

"Yeah," Piper said absently. "Listen Alex, I would really love to hang out, but I'm so stressed that I definitely need to go on a run tonight, and I have to hurry or the running club will leave without me."

"Don't worry, I'm heading that way," Alex replied. "I actually decided to join your running club."

"Hahah, very funny," Piper rolled her eyes, glancing down at Alex's legs. "I don't think you can run in your-" Piper stopped talking, her gaze ticking from Alex's smirk to her right leg. "Alex, what the hell happened to your boot?"

"I got it taken off a few days ago," Alex answered. "Things happen when you're too busy in meetings to see your friends."

"That's great Al," Piper smiled, squeezing Alex's forearm gently as she looked Alex up and down again. "Wait, you're in work out clothes. You're really joining running club?"

Alex laughed. "Yeah, I am. I figured, it's been so long since I've been able to walk normally, I might as well enjoy it and go running to. Maybe I'm a sadist."

"I'm sure you'll do fine," Piper said reassuringly. "Let me just lock my clothes in my desk and then we'll meet the group, alright?"

"Lead the way," Alex smiled as Piper ducked into her office, locking her wallet and clothing in her desk draw and retying her sneakers.

"Come on," Piper grinned. "Let's do this."

* * *

Alex was now pretty sure that she had made a mistake. Actually, she realized she had made a mistake about ten minutes ago, about a mile in, but now this was ridiculous. They were supposed to be doing a three mile loop in Central Park, but Alex wasn't sure she was going to make it the last mile.

It had all started out okay. She had been running with Piper, chatting to try and keep her mind off of how long it had been since she had been running, but Piper seemed to be one of those people who liked to run in silence, so Alex stopped talking. And without the talking to help her keep pace with with Piper, Alex had fallen behind. Not by much, probably just about ten or fifteen feet, but enough that she knew that Piper was just barely ahead of her, but too far away that Alex knew she would never catch up. And now Alex also had to deal with depressing thoughts about how much she hated running and exercise, and was silently ridiculing herself for deciding to do this just to impress Piper, and-

Pain. Blinding pain raced through Piper's right calf, and her entire leg muscle seized suddenly.

"Fuck!" Alex moaned as she stopped walking and dropped to the ground, rubbing her still aching leg. "Shit. Shit. Shit."

Despite the massage she was trying to give herself, Alex's leg was still tensing painfully.

"Hey, are you alright?" A guy in the PR Department, Alex was pretty sure his name was James, slowed down as he approached her.

"Yeah," Alex gasped as her leg tensed again under her ministrations. "Just a charley horse I think. It's been awhile since I've run on it"

"Ugh," James winced. "Those can be rough. You can actually get rid of the pain faster by stretching the muscle out rather than just massaging it."

"Okay," Alex sighed, shifting her legs so she could sit and stretch out her right leg. She looked up at James and smiled. "Thanks for the help, but I'll be alright."

"Are you sure?" James asked kindly. "I don't mind hanging around."

"No, I'm good," Alex replied, fighting back another wince as another spasm hit her leg. "I'm just going to call a cab. Don't worry about me."

"Okay," James smiled, standing back up. "See you tomorrow Alex."

"Bye," Alex called, rubbing her leg.

Alex looked down the park path, though she was almost positive she had lost track of Piper and the rest of the group. To her surprise, however, Piper was only about fifteen feet in front of Alex. The blonde was just standing in the middle of the path, like she had stopped abruptly at the same way Alex had. Alex's eyes narrowed as she noticed Piper was bent over, massaging her right leg; the exact same spot that Alex had injured.

Alex's leg tensed up again, sharp pain travelling from behind her knee and down her calf. "Shit," Alex moaned a little louder than before.

The brunette watched in confusion as Piper's face contorted into a grimace at the exact same time, her mouth slightly ajar as she gasped in pain.

It was then that Piper glanced around, her eyes falling on Alex, who was still crouching in the middle of the path, gripping her calf. Piper gave Alex a small smile as Piper's gaze roamed over as Piper stretched out her right leg.

As Piper moved to absentmindedly rub her leg, her eyes suddenly widened in fear. Before Alex could call out to her, Piper straightened, turned away from Alex, and began to run down the path. Piper's run had a slight limp to it, clearly indicating that she was in pain, but she kept going, pushing herself further from Alex.

"Piper!" Alex called out, confused. Piper glanced back, her eyes still wide, but she continued to run.

"What the hell," Alex muttered to herself as she stood up slowly, wincing slightly. Why the hell would Piper just take off running when she was hurt. It made even less sense because she clearly saw Alex sitting on the path. Why wouldn't she wait for Alex, or at least check to see if she was okay, considering Alex was also clearly in pain.

 _Oh._

The realization hit Alex like a ton of bricks. They both stopped their runs at the exact same time. Alex had a bad muscle spasm, and Piper also seemed to have pulled a muscle in her right leg at the same time. She watched Piper rub the exact same spot that Alex had felt pain.

Everything was coming together. Her inexplicable fondness for the blonde. Her first ever real straight girl crush, hell, her first crush in general. Her desire to be around Piper even though she knew it was a bad idea.

 _A few months ago, I was at work, and I felt this horrible pain,_ she remembered Piper saying. Alex was in a car accident almost five months ago, in the middle of the day as she was on her way to visit her mom. That had to have been what Piper felt, causing her to break up with her boyfriend.

Alex couldn't help but smile when she realized. She no longer had to fight this weird attraction to Piper. She now knew why she wanted to spend so much time with her. Why the habits that would driver her crazy if they came from anyone else, the know-it-all nature, the rambling, the ridiculously picky behavior, Alex only found to be endearing when they came from Piper.

Piper Chapman was her soulmate.

* * *

 ** _A/N 2: Alright, I have two questions for anyone who wants to answer._ _I was originally going to include Piper's reaction in this chapter as well, but wasn't sure how everyone felt about switching point of views. Would you guys just want each chapter written from one person's perspective, or do you want it to switch back and forth depending on the scene? It wouldn't always be a back and forth type of deal, just getting in each of their heads during key events._  
**

 ** _Second question: Because I already have Piper's reaction in mind, do you want me to pick up the next chapter right there, or move ahead a little? Again, thank you all for the wonderful feedback!_**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

No. No. No. NO

Piper had lost the group by this point, her leg cramp forcing her to fall behind. Not that it really mattered; at this point Piper was just going to run back to the office.

She never got leg cramps while running. She had been running two or three times a week every week since she was fifteen. She always made sure to stretch and stay well hydrated, and that cramp came out of nowhere.

To be honest, the cramp wasn't that bad. It hurt, but the pain in her right leg felt a little fuzzy, like what she was experiencing wasn't real. Sure, the pain was so bad it stopped her in her tracks, but she instinctively knew it wasn't her pain; it was someone else's.

She knew Alex had struggled with the run, and had soon fallen behind Piper's pace. However, when Piper had been stopped by the pain, she noticed that Alex didn't pass her. Once she felt better enough to run, she turned back, wondering if Alex was close enough so that they could run together.

She wasn't expecting Alex to be crouched on the ground, rubbing her leg. Piper was confused at first, until she realized that Alex was massaging her right leg. The exact same spot that Piper had just felt cramp up.

The second that realization entered her mind, Piper shut down. She turned and began to half limp, half run back towards the office, a sudden need to get away from Alex and what she can't believe may have happened.

"Piper!" she heard Alex call her name, and edge of desperation to her tone. Piper wanted to be able to just keep running and ignore Alex, but she couldn't. She liked Alex, and the two had developed a really fast friendship. She couldn't just leave her in case something was genuinely wrong.

She kept running, but looked back to make sure Alex was okay. She saw Alex, still crouching on the bike path, her face filled with confusion as she rubbed her leg.

 _She's fine,_ Piper thought as she turned around and kept running. _It's not possible,_ Piper continued to repeat in her head. _Alex Vause is not my soulmate. There's no way. It's a coincidence, like with Larry._

* * *

By the time Piper made it home, her thoughts were running panicky circles through brain. She glanced down at her phone, where she noticed she had a missed call from Alex. Her stomach pitched forward, and she immediately turned off her phone as she unlocked her front door, deciding she needed to be completely alone tonight.

She entered her house to a chorus of excited yips coming from the kitchen. "Coming Huck!" Piper called, grabbing the blue leash and moving towards the crate in the kitchen. Huck began jumping on the walls of the crate, continuing to bark as Piper crouched in front of him.

"Hey buddy," Piper said as she unlocked the crate, slipping the leash around Huck's collar. "You ready to go outside?"

She took Chase on a quick walk, stopping at the corner liquor store in order to pick up a bottle of tequila, having made the decision that she needed a drink. When she got back to her apartment, Piper placed the bottle of tequila on the coffee table, grabbed a carton of orange juice from the fridge and a glass, and plopped herself on her couch. Huck hopped up on the couch as well, curling up next to her.

"Okay Huck," Piper said to her dog, grabbing the remote and opening Netflix. "What should we watch while drinking tonight?"

Deciding to watch old episodes of "Grey's Anatomy", Piper began to drink.

At one shot, Piper was in denial. There was _no_ way that she had felt Alex's pain. It was just impossible.

At two shots, Piper retraced her sexual history, trying to find a hint that she may be gay. She had never once felt anything for a girl. Never. She couldn't be gay. And there was no way that she was attracted to Alex Vause.

At four shots, she was just repeating over and over again that she and Alex were just friends. Nothing more.

At six shots, Piper managed to convince herself that it was a mistake. She didn't feel Alex's pain, there was no way. She had her own leg cramp, it wasn't Alex's pain. She took another shot as she nodded to herself in approval.

* * *

Painful, white light woke Piper up the next morning. Groaning she rolled over, grabbing an extra pillow and covering her head with it. Sometime later, Piper heard the shrill ringing of her alarm clock.

"No," Piper groaned as she moved to sit up, her head pounding aggressively. "Not today."

She haphazardly dialed the number for Mr. Russo's office, leaving a voicemail explaining that she would be taking a sick day. Fortunately, her throat was dry, giving her voice a harsh, croaked quality, which she hoped would make her sick day more believable.

Rolling back over, she threw her comforter over her head, engulfing herself in darkness. She closed her eyes, hoping to sleep off her hangover and the events of yesterday.

* * *

On Friday, Piper forced herself to get up and go to work. She spent Thursday evening rationalizing everything. Piper realized she hadn't drunk any water on Wednesday, which means she would have been incredibly dehydrated by the halfway point of her run. That would explain her leg cramp. Alex's cramp was easily explainable; she had just gotten her boot off. She definitely hadn't been prepared for a run, and she probably just cramped up.

Piper nodded, affirming her theory to herself as she put Huck in his crate, patting his head one more time before heading into work. She made sure to leave for work early enough to make sure she was on time, but late enough that she would avoid running into Alex as she made her way into the building.

Piper slipped into her desk chair at exactly 8:55, quickly turning on her computer and plugging her headphones into her iPhone. Fortunately, calling in sick had made Piper fall behind at work, so she was immediately swept away by her work, catching up on emails and scheduling meetings.

As she finished sending an email invitation for a lunch meeting with a prospective client, Piper felt knuckles wrap against her desk. The blonde spins around, and is greeted by the smirking face of Alex Vause.

"Hey, Pipes. How're you feeling?" Alex grinned at her, her eyes bright and knowing. Piper immediately averted her gaze, glancing back at her desk.

"I'm alright, feeling a little better, thanks."

"I'm glad," Alex smiled, shoving a coffee cup into Piper's hand.

"Alex-" Piper began softly, but the brunette cut her off.

"You better drink that," Alex said. "I got you a coffee yesterday, but you weren't here. My only options were to drink it or give it to Erica in PR, but she's not really my type, and I didn't want to give her the wrong idea. And I don't know how you drink that crap; it's got so much sugar for someone who loves whole grain as much as you do."

"You didn't _have_ to give it to Erica," Piper pointed out. "You could have given it to anyone, not the only other lesbian in the office."

"Maybe," Alex shrugged. "But I'm still pretty new here. Didn't feel like planting the whole 'predatory lesbian' stereotype on people."

"But you bought me coffee," Piper said slowly, sudden dread pooling in her stomach as she waited for Alex's answer.

"Yeah, but you were different," Alex said flippantly.

"What?"

"You're my..." Alex stopped suddenly, closing her eyes as she inhaled deeply. It only lasted a second, a pause so brief Piper wasn't even sure it happened, before Alex was all smiles again. "You're my friend." Alex finished.

"Right," Piper said softly, feeling her cheeks growing warm under Alex's gaze. "Well, I have to get back to this project. It's due this afternoon."

"Okay," Alex said, her voice surprisingly soft as she took a step away from Piper's desk. "Are you free for lunch?"

"Oh, uh I don't know," Piper stuttered, gesturing to her desk. "I have to finish this project."

Alex nodded, her smile tight. "Of course. I'll see you later Pipes?"

"Mhm," Piper nodded, turning back to her computer. She heard Alex step out of her office, and Piper let out a heavy sigh. She was a terrible person. She was being avoidant for no reason. Alex was _not_ her soulmate, Piper had convinced herself of that. But the fact that the idea had even entered her mind had Piper on a tail spin, and she wasn't sure how to free herself from the thoughts in her head.

* * *

Piper managed to avoid Alex for most of the day. She remained holed in her cubicle for the most part, sneaking out for a quick lunch with Polly, which she regretted because Polly spent the entire time grilling her as to why she wasn't at work yesterday. She managed to get back to the office after lunch without Alex seeing her, and she finished her project by the end of the day and turned it into her project manager.

It was the end of the day, and Piper was packing up her desk. It was Friday, and she knew that Polly and Gemma were probably going to want to go out for drinks, but Piper wasn't in the mood. Hoping to just go home and relax on the couch, Piper grabbed her bag, hoping to make a quick escape.

Turning to exit her cubicle, she practically ran into Alex, who was standing just inside her office area, a small smile on her face. "Hey," Alex greeted softly.

"Alex," Piper yelped, stepping back in surprise. "Hi."

"You heading out?" Alex asked, smiling at Piper.

"Yup," Piper answered, looking at the ground as she trailed behind Alex.

"Are you doing anything tonight?"

"No, I kind of just want to go home and do nothing," Piper replied, still not looking at Alex as they waited for the elevator.

"Oh, okay," Alex answered.

The two stood in silence as they waited for the elevator. Piper shifted uncomfortably, glancing at Alex out of the corner of her eye. Alex was looking straight ahead, her long black hair curtaining her face as she ran her hand through it.

Staring at Alex's profile, Piper was struck by how effortlessly beautiful her friend was. Her mascara and winged eyeliner enhanced her already bright green eyes, and her ivory skin always seemed flawless, even under the harsh fluorescent lighting in their office. It was no mystery to Piper why girls seemed to be drawn to Alex Vause.

The pinging of the elevator drew Piper from her thoughts, and she shook her head as she quickly stepped onto the elevator, Alex following closely behind her. They were alone in the car as the doors closed, and Piper felt herself tense up for an unknown reason.

"Is everything okay?" Alex's quiet voice floated through the elevator. Piper turned to stare at Alex, who was still staring straight ahead, as if she hadn't said anything at all.

"Of course," Piper said quickly. "Everything's fine. Why?"

Alex still wouldn't look at Piper, adjusting her glasses before she spoke. "I don't know," Alex sighed. "You just seem...off."

Piper turned to Alex, forcing a smile on her face. "Alex, I'm fine." She continued to stare at the taller girl, taking in Alex's expression as she looked at Piper briefly. Alex's face appeared indifferent, but like that day a few weeks ago when Alex indirectly asked to be her friend, Piper could see the insecurity in her wide eyes, as if she were afraid Piper would be angry with her.

"Is everything alright with you?" Piper asked tentatively, her concern growing when Alex looked away from her.

At the worst possible moment, the elevator doors opened at the ground floor of the building, and Alex quickly moved out of the elevator and towards the exit.

"Alex!" Piper called, following after Alex. Alex stopped short right after she left the building, turning to face Piper.

"You just… seemed off this morning," Alex said, her eyes boring into Piper's. "You snuck into work this morning, then you were acting weird and avoiding when I tried to talk to you. You told me you were too busy to go to lunch, but I saw you leave your desk for an hour, so I'm assuming you got lunch with someone." Alex looked away, and Piper could actually see Alex recompose herself, watched her face go from hurt to stony as the brunette again looked at Piper. "If I did something wrong, I want to know what I did. I told you I wasn't great at the friend thing, and if I need you to tell me what I did." Then, so quietly Piper wasn't sure she actually heard it, Alex whispered. "I can't lose you as a friend."

Piper felt her stomach sink through the sidewalk, and she wanted her body to join it. Guilt coiled in her stomach at Alex's expression; Piper had hurt Alex, she was still hurting Alex. All because she couldn't stop her mind from overthinking. For imagining something that didn't happen and then blaming Alex for it. It wasn't right, and it wasn't fair.

"Alex," Piper started, taking a step closer to Alex. "I promise, you did _nothing_ wrong, okay? It's all me. I haven't been feeling well the past couple days, and I guess I took it out on you. I'm sorry, okay?"

Alex looked at Piper, her eyes searching Piper's gaze. For what, Piper didn't know, but Alex's small nod and hesitant smile bring instant relief to Piper.

"Okay," Alex answered. "Just don't be an ass again."

Piper couldn't help but laugh. "I'll try not to be."

"Good," Alex smirked, bumping her hip against Piper. "So, are you really going home to do nothing tonight?"

"Yeah. It may be lame, but I just kind of want to go home and curl up with Huck and watch movies."

"Huck?" Alex questioned.

"My dog," Piper said by way of explanation. "I got him after the whole disastrous-end-of-my-engagement. Polly thinks I'm insane for adopting a puppy right now."

"Ha," Alex scoffed. "Well, do you mind if I tag along? I don't have any plans tonight, and I happen to love dogs. I promise I won't call you sad or pathetic for adopting him to fill the emotional void left by your fiancé."

"You know, just for that, you are never allowed over my house," Piper said indignantly, pouting a little before her face gave way to a smile. "You really wanna come over and just, watch movies?"

Alex shrugged. "Like I said, I don't have any plans tonight."

"Okay," Piper smiled. "Feel free to come over. We can order take out."

"Sounds perfect," Alex grinned, turning to head towards the subway, a grinning Piper following her.

* * *

After Piper almost threw a grenade into her friendship with Alex, things went on as normal. She and Alex continued to alternate bringing the other coffee, they would grab lunch a couple of times a week, and began to get drinks every couple of weeks. For the most part, Piper was able to pretend that Alex was becoming one of her closest friends, and that she didn't almost ruin it for some paranoia and over thinking.

Sometimes, however, it got a little harder.

In a rush to get to a meeting on time, Piper had clumsily knocked her files all over the floor of her office. Trying to gather them up, Piper slipped under her desk to grab the last few papers.

Piper moved to stand quickly, forgetting she was under her desk, and with a crack, banged the back of her head against the bottom of her desk.

"Fuck," Piper hissed.

"Ouch!" Piper heard Alex exclaim at the same time from her cubicle ten feet away.

No.

Piper froze, rubbing the back of her head as she thought of Alex.

 _No. It's not what you think. It's just a coincidence._

Nodding to herself, Piper finished organizing her papers, and made her way to the elevator to meet her supervisor on the tenth floor. As she passed Alex's cubicle, she snuck a glance into her space. She saw Alex, whose back was turned to Piper, working diligently on a project, absentmindedly rubbing her head.

Her eyes widening, Piper doubled her pace to the elevator, feeling the need to flee the floor. _No,_ Piper continued to think to herself. _Do not jump to conclusions._

Despite her mantra, Piper Chapman knew she was a coward. Still disbelieving, Piper texted Alex, with whom she was supposed to have lunch this afternoon, telling her that her meeting ran long and that she couldn't make lunch, Piper holed herself up in her cubicle for lunch, hoping that Alex wouldn't stop by.

At the end of the day, Piper tapped nervously on her desk, waiting. She and Alex had plans to see a comedy show tonight, and unlike lunch, Piper couldn't back out of this. So, she waited, trying to remember that Alex was her friend; there was no reason to think otherwise or be nervous.

"You can never ditch me at lunch ever again," Alex's voice filled the cubicle before she did. Piper started as Alex dropped into the extra chair next to Piper's desk, smiling at the blonde.

"I'm sorry," Piper began her rehearsed apology in a rush. "Parker would not shut up in our meeting with Russo, and-"

"Pipes, calm down," Alex laughed. "Though I do accept your apology. Thanks to you I decided to venture to the employee break room to eat."

"No!" Piper gasped. "You did not."

"I did," Alex replied. "And I had to listen to Bernie in accounting tell everyone in the room how much work he does for the company."

"Bernie? You mean 'I'm going to send an email to the entire staff every time I'm working late' Bernie?"

"Yes," Alex groaned. "You know, he was telling Kelly in PR that he works the equivalent of a six day work week every week."

"Jesus," Piper rolled her eyes. "What an ass."

"Tell me about it," Alex stood. "So, you ready to go?"

"Yup," Piper smiled. She had to stop this, jumping to conclusions whenever something unexpected happened. She didn't want to risk losing Alex as a friend.

* * *

Ten days later, Piper was sitting on her desk when suddenly she heard Piper swear.

"Shit!" Alex gasped at the exact moment Piper's toe began to burn. Piper immediately tensed, but took a deep breath to relax.

 _It's nothing. You ran yesterday, and you probably just pulled something._ Piper quickly pushed the creeping doubts out of her mind, focusing on what she felt was a more logical explanation.

An hour later, Piper made her way to Alex's cubicle for lunch.

"You ready to go?" Piper asked from the doorway.

"Hey," Alex smiled as she spun around in her seat. "Just give me one sec."

Alex logged out of her computer, grabbed her wallet, and stood, wincing in pain as she stood.

"Are you okay?" Piper asked.

"Yeah," Alex half groaned. "I'm fine. I just tripped over my own two feet and banged my foot against my desk this morning."

"W-what?" Piper stuttered.

"It's fine for the most part. But it probably doesn't help that it was the same foot that I just got my cast off of. Stings a little more than it should."

"Right," Piper said quietly.

"Everything alright Pipes?" Alex said, looking at Piper with concern when Piper met her friend's gaze.

"Yeah, totally fine," Piper said in what she hoped was a nonchalant voice. "You ready to go?"

"Hmm," Alex nodded, a knowing look crossing her face as she made her way out of the office.

Piper didn't understand Alex's expression. And she didn't think she wanted to.

* * *

"Are you feeling more wine? Or do you think we should switch to something harder?" Piper called from her kitchen as she opened her fridge.

"We should probably just stick to wine, I still have to make it home tonight," Alex called back from the living room.

Since the one and only time that Alex joined Piper at their work running club (which they do not talk about), Alex and Piper developed a new routine. Every two or three weeks on a Friday night, Alex would come over to Piper's apartment after work, where they would order take out and watch movies. Polly gave Piper such a hard time about her new weekend activities, calling her lame and an old lady, but Piper didn't care. She really loved spending Friday nights in with Alex.

"Alright, I'll be right out!" Piper called, grabbing an unopened bottle of Pinot Grigio from the fridge, pouring the popcorn into a bowl, and making her way into her living room, where she was met with what had to be one of her favorite sights.

Alex Vause loved animals; in particular, Alex Vause loved dogs. Huck was currently sitting on Alex's lap, yipping excitedly and licking Alex's face as Alex scratched behind his ears. Huck loved Alex. Granted, Huck was a friendly dog who likes everyone, but he was different with Alex. When Piper usually had guests over, normally Polly or Gemma or her family, Huck would greet them, soak up the attention for a few minutes, and then move on to do his own thing. But not with Alex. From the first time Alex came to Piper's place, Huck immediately curled up in her lap, not moving for the whole night.

Piper smiled as she stood in the entryway, watching as Alex talked to Huck as she continued to pet him.

"You know," Piper began as she made her way into the living room. "I'm pretty sure he likes you more than he likes me."

"That's just because he knows I'm cooler than his mommy, right Huck?" Alex laughed, ruffling the fur on Huck's neck, eliciting an excited bark.

"Hey!" Piper exclaimed as she plopped down on the couch next to Alex. "Not nice."

"You know I'm joking," Alex rolled her eyes. "It's probably just that he sees you all the time. I'm someone he only sees once in a while."

"Hmm, maybe," Piper smiled contently. "So, what's the deal for tonight?"

"I'm thinking _Midnight in Paris,"_ Alex said as she scrolled through Piper's Netflix account.

Piper scrunched her nose. "Woody Allen?"

"I know he's a creep, but this movie got really good reviews."

"Fine," Piper heaved a sigh.

"You know, it's just a movie. This is not the time to take some moral high ground."

"Shut up," Piper groaned, hurling a throw pillow at Alex, who just laughed.

They watched the movie largely in silence, and Piper had to admit that she was enjoying the film. However, at one part of the film the main character was speaking to Ernest Hemingway about what it was like to have sex with a great woman. Piper turned to look at Alex in embarrassment, who in turn looked at Piper, raising her eyes suggestively.

"See what you're missing out on?" Alex joked.

Piper burst out in laughter, and watched what as Alex's eyes brightened in pleasure, her smile widening as she too began to laugh. As Alex laughed, Piper was again struck by how pretty Alex was. She had found herself thinking that several times over the past couple of weeks; the way Alex's face would light up whenever she smiled or laughed made it impossible not to notice how beautiful she was.

What Piper had never wondered before would be what it would be like to kiss Alex Vause.

The thought flitted into her brain without warning. One second she was laughing with Alex, and the next she wanted nothing more than to press her lips against her friend's.

 _What._

The laughter immediately dies in Piper's throat as she realizes what she just thought. She looked away from Alex as she tried to push down that feeling. Alex was her friend. Piper was allowed to think she was pretty, she was not allowed to want to kiss her. Piper didn't even like girls, she just got caught up in the feeling of the movie and Alex's laugh.

As if she could sense Piper beginning to shut down, Alex softly kicked Piper's leg with her own foot. Piper met Alex's concerned gaze. "You okay?" Alex asked gently.

"Yeah," Piper laughed slightly. "We're missing the movie."

Alex nodded, turning her attention back to the television, leaving Piper alone with her thoughts.

When the movie wrapped up, Alex stood, stretching. "Well, I think I should get going. I have to head home tomorrow to visit my mom, so I have to get up early."

"Okay," Piper nodded, standing as well.

"Bye Huck, see you soon buddy," Alex said as she pet the terrier, who jumped down off the couch and followed Alex as she made her way to the front door.

Piper trailed behind Alex, opening her apartment door as Alex grabbed her coat from the closet. Despite her earlier distance, Piper couldn't help but smile as she watched Alex adjust her leather jacket, flicking her long black hair over the collar.

"Thanks for hosting again," Alex said softly, smiling as she took in Piper's expression.

"No problem," Piper replied, quickly glancing down at her dog, who was sitting at Alex's feet. "At this rate, I think we should just make my place the permanent location or Huck would never forgive me."

"Maybe," Alex laughed. The brunette leaned slightly into Piper, her eyes falling to Piper's lips. Piper's eyes widened in realizing what could happen, and took half a step back, causing Alex's gaze to move back to her eyes.

"Have a good time with your mom this weekend," Piper said, trying to ignore her hammering heart.

"Thanks," Alex smiled, reaching out and skimming her hand down Piper's arm. Piper's arm twitched as if she had been shocked, shivers trailing down her spine at Alex's touch. She had no idea what it meant, but if Alex felt it, she didn't let on. "See you on Monday, Pipes."

"See you Monday," Piper smiled, closing the door gently behind Alex.

As the door shut, Piper leaned against it, groaning loudly. She looked at her arm, which was still tingling after Alex's touch. Looking down at Huck, who was still standing by Piper's feet, she shook her head. "What is happening to me Huck?"

Huck simply barked his answer before standing and trotting back towards the living room.

Piper Chapman had no idea why Alex Vause had such a dizzying effect on her. And if she was being honest, she wasn't sure that she wanted to find out.

* * *

 _ **A/N: So, here's chapter 5. I don't really know how I feel about it. I wanted to get into Piper's head about how she feels/processes the whole situation, and I hope I did that in a way that doesn't seem too stagnant and actually contributes to the plot. Thank you so much for all of your feedback, and let me know what you think!**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: Wow, it's been awhile. I'm so sorry to leave you all hanging, but I was looking for apartments/moving, and now I'm officially settled in, so hopefully the updates will be a lot more regular. Thank you to everyone for sticking by this story, it means a lot. I hope you at least kind of like this chapter; it ends on a not so great note, but it's kind of necessary to get Piper where she needs to be. Enjoy (I hope)!**_

* * *

Chapter 6

A lot of the time, Alex Vause felt like a fuck up. She usually managed to pull through it relatively unscathed, but that feeling always lingered. And with how everything had been going recently, was be surprised that she didn't fuck everything up more often.

Two months ago, Alex Vause discovered that Piper Chapman was her soulmate. As soon as she had realized it, she just knew, and it was as if her entire life had fallen together. And Alex knew that, on some level, Piper knew it too. Why else would she have called in sick the day after that stupid run and then avoided Alex the entire next day. Piper knew, she just refused to acknowledge it.

And Alex totally understood where Piper was coming from, why she seemed to be in such denial about everything. She just got out of a two and half year relationship with a person she thought was going to be her soulmate, only to find out suddenly that wasn't the case. That would make anyone a little wary of what they saw and felt, and then throw in the fact that your soulmate is a _girl._ Piper's head must be a mess.

But for Alex, it was starting to get more and more difficult to hide her attraction from Piper. To act like she wasn't upset when one of them got hurt and Piper distanced herself from Alex. To stop herself from reaching for Piper's hand as they walked down the street, from kissing Piper whenever she did something particularly adorable.

She was usually able to push down these feelings, and told herself Piper would get there when she gets there. And she was pretty sure she had done a good job of handling everything, up until right now.

Alex made her way cautiously towards Piper's cube, rehearsing what she was going to say in her head. Piper was waiting for her when she got there, glancing up at her phone and smiling brightly at Piper, as if she's never been happier to see anyone. Alex felt her insides warm.

"Hey!" Piper greeted her, standing. "Ready to go, I'm starving."

"Yeah," Alex shifted her weight, deciding to tell her at the restaurant. "Let's go."

"You good?" Piper asked, looking at Alex as if she had two heads.

"Yeah," Alex nodded fiercely. "Yeah, I'm good."

"You're lying," Piper scoffed, dropping her bag back on the table. "Spill."

"Piper," Alex groaned, her eyes darting out to the rest of the office, ensuring that no one else was listening. God, she wouldn't even be surprised if Piper ran for the hills. "I messed up."

"What do you mean, you messed up?" Piper said slowly.

"Well, we have plans to Coney Island this weekend, right?"

"Yeah, I've never been, and you said it's a good time."

"Right. So, my mom called me yesterday, and she reminded me that she was coming to the city this weekend to visit, and I completely forgot about it. I'm sorry."

"Alex, it's fine," Piper smiled. "We can go another time."

"Yeah," Alex sighed slowly. "I told my mom that I would have to cancel my plans with you, and she said we wouldn't have to worry about, and she would just come with us, if that's alright with you?"

Alex noticed the flickers of fear and hesitation in Piper's eyes. She knew it, Piper was going to freak out. She probably thought that Alex had orchestrated all of this because of the soulmates thing and would never want to speak to her again. God, she should have just lied and told her mom that Piper had other-

"Okay," Piper's hesitant voice cut through the dizzying downward spiral in Alex's head.

"Okay?" Alex asked slowly.

"Yeah," Piper shrugged. "Why not? Unless you didn't really want me to come?"

"No!" Alex replied, probably a little too eagerly. "I just don't want you to feel like you have to because my mom invited you."

"Alex, it's fine," Piper smiled. "It'll be fun. You know way too many embarrassing stories about me, now I can use your mom to get the dirt on you."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Alex replied as she moved out of the cubicle. "I have never had an embarrassing moment in my life."

"You're so full of shit," Piper scoffed, shoving Alex slightly.

"Maybe," Alex admitted.

* * *

"So, what's the deal with this Piper," Diane asked, turning to her daughter as they waited for Piper at the entrance of Coney Island.

"I told you," Alex groaned. "She's one of the marketing associates at work. We became friends."

Diane Vause had been very interested in Piper Chapman since she arrived on Friday afternoon. Alex had mentioned that Piper would be coming with them to Coney Island, and then tried to avoid all talk of Piper for the next two days. But Diane was sneaky, and had tried to work Piper into as many conversations as possible.

"Uh huh," Diane sighed slowly, disbelief filling her tone. "And that's it?"

"Yes," Alex said firmly.

"I'm not buying it," Diane said simply, still staring at Alex.

"Fine," Alex huffed, turning to face her mom. "If I tell you, you have to promise not to say anything today."

"Promise," Diane smiled.

Alex closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath before replying. "Piper is my soulmate." There, she had said it. For the first time, Alex said out loud what she had known for months.

"Babe," Diane said gently, rubbing her daughter's shoulder. "Are you sure?"

Alex nodded. "We were on a run a couple of months ago and-"

"You went on a run?" Diane scoffed.

"Shut up," Alex gave a small laugh. "I was trying to make friends. Anyway, we went on a run, and since I just got out of my cast, I got a really bad leg cramp and had to stop. Piper was up ahead of me, and she stopped too, and started rubbing the same spot on her leg." Alex glanced at her mom, who appeared unconvinced. "I'm telling you, I saw what was happening, and I just _knew_."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Alex nodded. "I'm sure. She felt me get into my car accident."

"She said that?"

"She was at work in the middle of the day and says she felt someone get seriously hurt. Piper swears it was the worst pain she had ever experienced. When she called her boyfriend, she found out he was fine. She felt my car accident."

"But she had a boyfriend at the time. Is she straight?"

"Well, she can't be," Alex shot back. "She's my soulmate."

"If you say so, Al."

"Just, please don't say anything to her," Alex said, suddenly felt panicked now that someone else knew. "She doesn't know. Or, she does, but she's pretending she doesn't. Like you said, she's only dated boys, so I haven't told her, and I don't want to freak her out."

"Okay," Diane nodded.

"Alex!"

Whipping around, Alex caught sight of Piper, her blond hair whipping around her face as approached them. Alex swore her heart stopped as she drank in the sight of Piper Chapman. Piper was dressed simply, just a loose striped tee shirt and jean shorts, but she was by far the most beautiful person Alex had ever seen.

Alex felt her mom lean towards her. "She's cute," Dianne said quietly, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

"Mom, shh," Alex hissed, turning her attention back to Piper as she reached Alex and Diane. "Hey. Make it here alright?"

"Mhm," Piper nodded. "Just a ton of traffic, but I made it."

"You made it," Alex echoes, smiling. Alex gestured to her mom as she glanced her way. "Mom, this is my friend Piper. Piper, this is my mom, Diane."

"It's nice to meet you," Piper smiled, holding out her hand. Diane ignored her, pulling Piper into a quick hug instead.

"Great to meet you Piper," Diane grinned. "I feel like I know you already. Al never shuts up about you."

"Mom!" Alex exclaimed, eyes widening. She quickly turned to Piper, shaking her head. "That is not true."

Piper laughed in response, reaching out to quickly squeeze Alex's arm before pulling away. Piper's touch burned her skin in the best way as she watched Piper ask her mother questions.

"C'mon," Diane nodded her head towards the entrance to the amusement park. "I want to ride the ferris wheel. And I can tell you about the time Alex tried to dye her hair orange."

" _Red,"_ Alex corrected adamantly. "I was trying to dye it red."

"Red, orange, it doesn't matter," Diane dismissed, turning her attention back to Piper and flashing her a wicked grin. "Either way, she put it in so unevenly it that patches of her hair were still black when she rinsed it out."

"No!" Piper gasped, turning to smile back at Alex as Diane dragged her towards the park.

* * *

Of course Piper got along well with her mom.

Diane adored Piper, that much she could tell. They mainly talked about Alex, with her mom dispelling personal and embarrassing information about Alex when she was growing up, Piper giggling delightedly at every punch line. Alex rolled her eyes and half heartedly told her mom to shut up, but she really didn't mind it. More often than not, Alex found herself fighting back a grin at the sight of her mom and Piper, the two most important people in her life, chatting like old friends. Her heart kept tugging at Piper's laugh and exclamations of disbelief, Diane joining her as she tried to finish a story.

"Can we please talk about _anything_ else?" Alex groaned in fake annoyance as she plopped down on a picnic table, grabbing a quick dinner before heading back into the park.

"But this is so much fun!" Piper grinned at Alex, who rolled her eyes in response.

"Alright, alright, I think we've tortured Al enough," Diane appeased, handing Piper and Alex their hot dogs. Diane briefly raised her eyes at Alex before turning her attention to Piper. "So Piper, are you seeing anyone?"

"Mom," Alex warned, shooting a worried glance at Piper, whose smiled faded slowly.

"It's fine Alex," Piper said quietly, shooting Piper a meaningful glance. Alex gave the blond a small apologetic smile, which Piper shrugged off before turning her attention back to Diane. "Nope, I'm not seeing anyone. I'm kind of in a waiting for the right person sort of mind frame now."

"Ah, I see. Bad experience?" Diae pressed, and Alex tried to kick her mom under the table to get her to stop harassing Piper.

"More like I came really close to making a big mistake, and I don't want to take that chance again."

"Sounds like someone I know like that," Diane smirked, shifting her attention to Alex, who felt her cheeks redden.

"Was Alex really always like that?" Piper asked. "She told me she never really dated anyone."

"Never," Diane confirmed. "The moment she felt that soulmate, it was all she could focus on."

"See," Alex made a face at Piper.

"It just seems so weird."

"No, the weird thing was when Alex would communicate with her soulmate," Diane answered.

"Oh god," Alex groaned.

"What do you mean?"

"How old were you Alex, fifteen?" Alex nodded, and Diane continued. "And Alex had been feeling her soulmate off and on for about two years. One day we were out to dinner, and Alex just suddenly winced and swore. And then she said ' _will you just stop',_ and I thought she was talking to me, and then she pinched her arm. I asked her what it was about, and she said her soulmate was punching a wall or something, and all she wanted to do was eat her dinner in peace, so she pinched herself to get the other girl to stop."

"Really?" Piper asked.

"It would happen sometimes," Alex studied Piper, watching a flicker of realization fill her eyes before quickly shutting it down.

"I remember being in shock that she would have the balls to tell someone she had never met to stop, but apparently, she and her this girl had been having this back and forth for months, and I guess both of them complied with it."

"I'm sure it's pretty common," Piper cut in. "I remember that would happen every once in a while with my soulmate, whoever they are. I would feel the pain and just stop, guess I felt guilty."

"Imagine that," Diane mused, her voice knowing.

"Well, whoever ends up with you will be very lucky," Piper smiled at Alex.

"Hmm," Alex nodded, not sure how to respond.

Diane stood, collecting the trash at the table. "Alright girls, I'm ready to play some crappy carnival games."

"I'm terrible at those games," Piper groaned.

"Well, maybe Alex will win you a prize," Diane called over her shoulder, winking at Alex as she walked towards a water game.

* * *

"I liked your mom," Piper mentioned on Monday as Alex handed her a cup of coffee.

"Yeah?" Alex smiled slightly.

Piper nodded. "Yeah. There's just something about her that feels familiar. And, I don't know… safe maybe?"

"Hmmm," Alex hummed.

"I don't know how to describe it."

"It's okay," Alex shrugged, trying to remain casual. "She has that effect on people. She's very charismatic."

"Plus, she has a wealth of embarrassing stories about you to makes you slightly less cool and badass."

"Shut up," Alex shoved Piper lightly, at which Piper only laughed.

"You love me," Piper replied, before quickly leaning in and lightly pressing her lips to Alex's cheek.

Alex turned slightly, studying Piper. The blonde pulled away, eyes wide and surprise etched on her features. Alex watched as Piper dropped her gaze, her cheeks reddening before she shook her head. Piper lifted her head, smiling warmly at Alex as if nothing had happened. "I gotta go, I'll see you at lunch."

"Okay," Alex replied, still stunned as she watched Piper walk away.

For the first time, Alex Vause felt a glimmer of hope.

* * *

After their trip to Coney Island with Diane, Alex felt a shift in her relationship with Piper.

Piper hung around with Alex more during the evenings and weekends, her gentle teasing and and bright smile filling her otherwise lonely nights.

One Thursday night, Alex was enjoying a quiet night, eating takeout thai and watching a documentary about the prison industrial system. Cracking open a beer, she had barely managed to take a sip when she heard a knock at the door.

"Of course I just can't have a quiet night at home," Alex muttered to herself as she stood, making her way down her short hallway. Without checking who it was, Alex opened the door, and came face to face with Piper. Piper, in a flowing blue summer dress and sandals. Piper, with her blonde hair in loose curls and her makeup done in a way Alex hadn't seen before. Piper, who looked damn near ethereal standing in Alex's doorway. Alex couldn't help but smile at Piper as her stomach fluttered, but she remained silent, waiting for Piper to speak first.

"Hi," Piper greeted softly, smiling hesitantly.

"Hey," Alex answered, her voice just as soft. Leaning against her doorframe in an attempt to act casual, Alex threw Piper what she hoped was her best smirk. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Ugh," Piper groaned, pushing past Alex into her apartment. "Polly set me up."

Alex's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean Polly set you up?"

"On a date."

"Why were you on a date?" Alex said without thinking. She knows that came out jealous, and she didn't mean for it too, but she couldn't help it. Piper couldn't be going on dates, she just shouldn't be.

"Because Polly tricked me!" Piper answered exasperatedly. "She said she wanted to meet for dinner, and wanted to go to this nice place on sixteenth street, so she told me to dress nicely. I complied, because I'm a good friend, and you know what I see when I walk into the restaurant?"

"Some random dude sent there by Polly?" Alex supplied.

"Worse! I walked in on a double date! If I had walked into just a guy and a blind date, I could have explained that I wasn't interested. But since it was a double date, I couldn't just leave the guy without making it an awkward third wheel experience for that poor guy she tried to set me up with. She trapped me there!"

Alex breathed a sigh of relief. "What did you do?"

"Well, I had to sit through I very uncomfortable dinner, yelled at Polly in the bathroom, and then left."

"And you came here?"

Piper nodded. "Is that alright?"

"Of course it's okay," Alex smiled. "Do you want some of my thai food?"

"I'm okay," Piper shook her head. "I will take a beer though."

"Your wish is my command, princess," Alex joked as she made her way into the kitchen, grabbing Piper a beer. As she returned to the living room, she found Piper on her phone.

"Is it fun?" Piper asked, pausing for a reply. Alex cautiously made her way into the living room, catching Piper's eye and smiling at her. "Well, I just came back from this horrible date, so I could definitely use some fun."

Alex stepped close to Piper as she handed the blonde her beer. Straining to listen, she thought she heard Gemma's voice on the other end of the receiver.

' _Piper, this place is so much fun. I'm hanging out with a few people from work, and there are plenty of hot guys here as well to take your mind off of your terrible date. Please, come meet us!'_

"It definitely sounds like fun, and I-" Piper was about to respond before meeting Alex's questioning gaze. "Gemma, can you hold on one second?" Placing the phone against her shoulder, Piper smiles at Alex. "Gemma and some other people from work are out at a bar a couple of blocks away. It sounds like fun, and it would be a good way to shake off this bad night. Wanna come?"

Alex tried to ignore the slight disappointment as she fixed a smile on her face. "Nah, I was just hoping to spend a quiet night in. But you go and have fun, it seems like you need it."

"Are you sure?" Piper asked, and Alex noted a flicker of guilt in Piper's eyes.

"Yeah kid, it's totally fine, don't worry about it," Alex chuckled a little. "Go find some hot guys."

"Okay," Piper said slowly, pressing her phone back to her ear. "Gemma? It sounds like fun, but I'm actually at Alex's, and I think I'm just going to hang out here tonight…. Yeah, I'm sure….Tell me all about it tomorrow. Bye."

"It's okay if you want to go out with your friends Pipes," Alex said as soon as Piper hung up her phone. "I won't feel bad if you head out."

"Alex, I want to stay here with you," Piper smiled, moving towards the couch and picking up the television remote. "Hanging out with you is much more appealing right now than going to a bar."

"Yeah?" Alex asked, hesitantly taking a step towards her couch.

Piper grinned, patting the spot on the couch next to her. "Definitely. Now come sit down, I want to watch some trashy reality television."

Alex smiled, sitting next to Piper and snatching the remote from her. "Fine, but I get to pick the crappy reality show that we watch."

Alex had to admit that sitting on the couch with Piper, providing ridiculous commentary to the most recent season of _The Bachelor_ , was much more fun than hanging out at a bar. And if they were at a bar, Piper's head would never have fallen on Alex's shoulder when she fell asleep for fifteen minutes.

* * *

There were times, however, when Alex thought that nothing would ever change.

It was another end of the quarter celebration at the office, and the company was at their usual bar. Gemma seemed to be particularly determined to hook up with some guy tonight, and Polly, who was already in a friends-with-benefits situation with a guy, was determined to get Piper laid no matter what.

Alex was not amused.

"C'mon Piper, what about that guy? He's really hot," Polly pointed to a guy that looked like a total frat boy on the opposite end of the bar.

Alex couldn't suppress her eye roll. "Are you going to whore her out to the most attractive guy you see?" Piper said snidely.

Polly looked at Alex darkly. "Don't you have anywhere else you could be?"

"Polly!" Piper admonished. "Unnecessary. I'm not just hanging out with you, I'm hanging out with my other friends too."

"Whatever," Polly muttered, looking down at her phone. "It's Pete," Polly said distractedly. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Okay," Piper smiled, while Alex ignored her.

As Polly walked away, Piper turned to Alex with a mischievous grin on her face. "So, see any girls you like?"

"I'm not in the mood for that tonight, Piper," Alex said slowly.

"What?" Piper sounded shocked. "The great Alex Vause, the one who likes to brag about how many numbers she can get in one night, isn't going to find a conquest?"

"Afraid not," Alex shrugged.

"What has happened to you?" Piper joked before her face morphed into one of realization. "Oh my god! Did you meet someone?"

Alex rolled her eyes. "Come on Piper," she groaned. Of course Alex had met someone; she had met Piper. "You know I don't do the casual dating thing."

"No, you said you didn't," Piper said slowly, before smiling again. "Unless you met your soulmate! Did you meet her?"

"Piper, please just drop it," Alex said, practically begging. "I don't want to talk about this."

"What's she like? Do I know her? Will I get to meet her soon?" Piper chattered on, seemingly excited about and abstract soulmate for Alex, and Alex couldn't stand it. How dare Piper be so casual about this. How dare she play dumb and ignore the obvious connection that they have, all the incidents that have proved that Alex was supposed to be with Piper, just so Piper can live in a state of denial.

"Will you shut the fuck up about soulmates and my dating life?" Alex snapped, her voice coming out harsher than she intended.

Piper's smile dropped, quickly replaced by a frown that looked more melancholy than annoyed or frustrated. Staring down at her drinking, Alex felt Piper's eyes still on her. Finally, she heard the blonde inhale deeply. "I'm sorry," Piper said quietly, her voice thin.

Alex looked back up at her friend. Her lower lip between her teeth, Piper stared at Alex with wide tear filled eyes. "I shouldn't have made a joke out of that," Piper offered, her voice wet.

In that moment, Alex thought seeing Piper cry was the most heartbreaking thing she would ever experience.

Alex sighed. "I'm sorry too. It's just tough. I'm just not sure it's going to work out. I… don't think I'm her type," Alex finished lamely.

"How could you not be her type?" Piper asked slowly, as if she was trying to tread carefully. "Anyone would be lucky to date you."

"I'm pretty sure she when she was fantasizing about meeting her soulmate, she wasn't picturing me. Or a girl at all, really," Alex muttered self-deprecatingly. She figured if Piper felt like talking about her soulmate, Alex would be honest. What else did she have to lose?

Alex watched as Piper's eyes widened, as if she recognized what Alex had hinted at. Piper cleared her throat before raising her drink to her lips and chugging the rest of it. "Ummm," Piper's gaze shifted, as if searching for something to say when the bartender approached them.

"For you, miss," he smiled, handing Piper a drink.

"Oh, um, I didn't order anything," Piper stuttered.

"The man over there ordered it for you," The bartender pointed, smiling at Piper before he walked away.

Piper and Alex turned in the direction the bartender was pointing, where a tall man with dark hair and bright eyes was smiling at Piper. With an athletic build and wearing an expensive sport coat, even Alex had to admit he was attractive.

"Well, that was nice of him," Piper grinned, tipping her glass in thanks to the man across the room.

Alex rolled her eyes. "Uh huh," she sighed, unimpressed.

"I should probably go thank him personally," Piper said casually, reaching for her bag and sliding it off of her chair.

"Seriously? You're going to leave me alone?" Alex asked petulantly, hoping it would make Piper stay with her.

But Piper seemed to barely register Alex's subtle plea. "I have to go thank him," Piper answered, her smile widening. "Besides, he looks like he'd be good at scratching an itch. You know what I mean?" And without a glance back at Alex, Piper walked away.

And Alex realized she was wrong before. Alex Vause was now sure the most heartbreaking thing she would ever witness is Piper Chapman leaving her for someone else.

* * *

A month later, Alex and Piper reached their breaking point.

It was another night out. Not with work, but an actual Friday night out at a club. It was Piper's twenty-fifth birthday, and she wanted to celebrate before she had her quarter-life crisis. Polly, Gemma, Alex, and a few of her other friends had gone to a club to in downtown Manhattan.

Piper looked amazing in her party dress. It was all material, sequins, and cutouts, her black heels putting her almost an inch taller than Alex. The blonde was having a blast, taking full advantage of the fact that she hadn't needed to pay for drinks all night.

In fact, Alex watched as Piper downed another shot and was then led to the dancefloor by the man who bought it for her. He pressed his front against Piper's back, gripping her hips and moving the two of them to the heavy club beat.

Alex's jealousy reared its ugly head for a moment, but she forced herself to push it down. This was Piper's birthday, Piper's night; it wasn't supposed to be about Alex. Even if Alex wanted nothing more than to be the one buying Piper's drinks all night, dancing with her, taking her home at the end of the night….

"Um, Alex?" Alex turned, looking down at Polly, who was staring up at her nervously. The two had managed to avoid each other all night in order to keep Piper's birthday happy, and Alex had to admit she liked it better that way.

"Yes?" she cocked an eyebrow.

"It's -uh- almost one o'clock, and Pete just called me…" Polly trailed off, glancing down at her phone before looking back up. "I was going to head out, is there anyway you can make sure Piper gets home okay?"

Alex nodded. "Yeah, I'll get her home."

Polly smiled in relief. "Thank you so much. I owe you one!" Polly's expression then dimmed. "I mean, I'll see you Monday." And with that, Polly turned and quickly weaved through people for the exit.

"Typical," Alex scoffed as the song ended. She turned back to the dance floor, trying to find Piper in the crowd, but couldn't see her. "Shit," Alex murmured, putting her drink down and getting ready to search the club for Piper.

"Alex!" a slurred voice called from her left, and suddenly Piper Chapman was pressed against her, limbs wrapping clumsily against the brunette's waist.

"Hey Pipes," Alex grinned, pulling Piper in for a hug. She squeezed Piper briefly, angling her head and inhaling deeply, breathing in Piper's perfume. Releasing her, she noticed Piper's wide grinned, and couldn't help but match it. "Are you having fun?"

Piper nodded widely. "Soooo, much fun," she said loudly, the words sounding thick and disjointed. "Best birthday ever!"

"I'm glad you had a good time, but I think it's time we go," Alex suggested gently.

"Alex, I'm fiiine," Piper insisted, trying to take a step back from Piper. As she did, she tripped over her own feet, barely managing to grip Alex's arm.

"Sorry, Pipes, I think you're done," Alex laughed.

"You're no fun," Piper pouted, which only made Alex laugh harder.

"Come on kid, I'll call us a cab."

The drive to Piper's apartment was largely silent, Piper's nervous energy dissipating almost as soon as she sat down in the backseat of the cab. Piper's head was resting on Alex's shoulder, and Alex couldn't help but revel in it, gently weaving her hand through Piper's hair. Alex felt the car slow, and moved to grab her wallet.

"Alright Pipes," Alex whispered. "We're here. Do you want me to come up?"

"Mhm hmm," Piper hummed, nodding against Alex's shoulder before raising her head and reaching for the cab door.

Alex quickly paid the cabbie as Piper stumbled out of the taxi. Alex had barely made it around the car when she saw Piper trying to attempt to climb the steps to her building door in her heels.

"Come on, Piper, just wait a sec and I'll help you - shit!" Alex swore as Piper tripped on her stairs, falling down and banging her knees.

"Fuck!" Piper exclaimed as Alex also cried out in pain. "Ouch," Piper said softly as she rubbed her now bleeding knee.

"Jesus Piper," Alex said, limping towards Piper through the pain. As Alex reached the blonde, she turned, still on her hands and knees and began to stand. Alex put her hand out to steady her, and eventually Piper was upright again.

"Seriously Piper, next time time you think you can drunkenly climb stairs in heels, don't. That really fucking hurt. I may actually have a bruise on my knee," Alex said as they slowly made their way up the stairs.

Piper froze then, and Alex almost ran into her in shock.

"What the hell Piper?" Alex exclaimed. Piper looked back at Alex, her expression shocked, and realization suddenly dawned on Alex.

 _Shit._

"Piper," Alex began gently, but Piper took a step back.

"What did you say?" Piper asked, her voice sounding suddenly sober.

"Nothing," Alex shook her head, trying to brush it off. "It was nothing."

"It didn't sound like nothing," Piper shot back, taking another step back from Alex.

"Come on Piper, I need to get you to bed, you-"

"No, Alex!" Piper suddenly looked panicked, actually putting her arms out in front of her in order to put space between them. "I don't know what you think this friendship is Alex, but that's all it is. We're friends, Alex. Whatever you may think-"

"Oh come off it Piper!" Alex snapped, months of repression finally bubbling to the surface. "You know it's more than that."

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about," Piper shot back. "I'm straight, Alex. I like boys, I sleep with boys. I am _not_ into girls, and I am definitely not into you." Piper was pure anger now, her eyes blazing, mouth set into a stubborn line, as if her anger should cow Alex into acceptance.

Alex stepped back as if she had been slapped. Or more accurately stabbed; Piper's words were like a knife to her stomach. Piper's vehemence, how badly she wanted to convince Alex that they weren't soulmates, hurt. Piper was actually denying the one thing that Alex knows is true; she isn't just tiptoeing around the idea anymore, Piper was actually stating that she and Alex weren't meant to be together, that they couldn't be together. And Alex felt like her heart was being ripped out.

Alex closed her eyes briefly and inhaled. In her pause, she recognized what Piper was doing. Piper's immediate rage went beyond simply denying an idea as ridiculous; she had thought about it too.

"Then how do you explain the time I stubbed my toe and you walked around with limp for the rest of the day?" Alex countered, a new fire lit within her. "Or that day we ran in the park, or…" Alex trailed off, unsure whether she wanted to continue. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was how sick Alex was of pretending, or maybe it was how much she loved Piper Chapman, but Alex continued. "Or what about the fact that I got into a car accident on the exact same day you discovered that your boyfriend wasn't your soulmate," Alex finished quietly.

Piper's jaw dropped slightly as her eyes widened, her bright blue iris' darting around Alex's face as if she were trying to create a counter argument. Failing, Piper's expression just looked stricken, and she backed away from Alex, somehow managing to climb the last few stairs backwards.

"Piper," Alex pleaded, moving up one step.

"No." Piper choked out, grabbing her key and moving towards her building's entrance. "No. You're crazy."

"Piper-"

"Stay the fuck away from me Alex," Piper said angrily, forcing her key into the lock and disappearing into her building.

"Piper!" Alex called, even though she knew it wouldn't do any good. Sighing deeply, she unlocked her phone, opened up a rideshare app, and called for a ride. While she waited for her driver, Alex plopped down on the steps of Piper's building, resting her elbows on her thighs and burying her face in her hands. And for the first time since her car accident, Alex allowed herself to cry. She had potentially just scared away her soulmate and best friend, and now she all she wanted to do was cry.

Alex Vause always had to fuck everything up.

* * *

 _ **A/N2: Again, I'm really sorry about the delay, and I hope you guys are still around. Let me know what you think!**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N: Another chapter! Thank you all for being so patient and wonderful! It's a little on the short side, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.**_

* * *

Chapter 7

It was too bright.

Piper groaned as she rolled onto her side,covering her head with her pillow. It was probably too early to even get up, and yet she was awake with a massive headache. Apparently she had a good birthday, judging by the monster of a hangover she could feel building.

Piper rubbed her eyes, trying to remember what had happened the night before. She remembered the drinks. Lots and lots of free drinks, from several different guys. She remembered dancing with a few of them before Polly left to go to Pete's. After that, glimpses of memories swirled through her head in a slow haze, remembering pieces with no context, unable to find anything firm to grasp on to.

Finding the light still too bright, Piper shifted onto her stomach, pressing her left knee into the mattress as she moved, a sharp sting radiating from the spot. Piper hissed in pain, vaguely remembering falling the night before.

 _How did that happen?_ Piper tried to focus her memories, hoping to piece together how she fell. She must have fallen on her way home, maybe outside of her apartment. Yeah, that sounds right, she was probably climbing the stairs into her building. But based on her headache and rolling stomach, there was no way that Piper would have made it home by herself. Polly had left her, which meant that the people who would have brought her home could have been Elizabeth, Gemma, Alex, or…

 _Alex._

As if her memories were pieces of a puzzle falling into place, Piper could suddenly remember the previous evening in perfect clarity. Alex had brought her home, paid for the cab right, and made a comment when Piper had fallen down and hurt herself.

And Piper had acted like a crazy person.

"Shit," she groaned, as she replayed herself shouting at Alex, telling her she was crazy, and finally telling her friend to stay the fuck away from her.

She was a truly awful person.

Grabbing her phone, Piper winced at the fact that it was only nine in the morning. It was still early, but she needed her best friend. Piper listened as the as the phone rang once, twice…

"You better be in a ditch somewhere," Polly's voice drifted over the connection, still heavy with sleep.

"Good morning to you too, Polly," Piper replied, unamused.

"Seriously, why are you calling? I just went to sleep like five hours ago."

"I need you to come over," Piper replied.

"Did you miss the part when I said I just went to sleep five hours ago? I'm still at Pete's," Polly answered, clearly annoyed by the whole situation.

"Come on Polly, it's an emergency!"

"I'm sure it can wait a couple of hours. I'll come over around noon."

"No," Piper said firmly. "Remember that Corey, the stage five clinger from freshman year? Remember how you made me break up with him for you by telling him you dropped out of school?"

"Piper…" Polly began slowly, but Piper continued.

"You told me you owed me one. A big one. I'm calling it in."

"It's really that serious?" Polly asked, all annoyance gone from her voice.

"It's that serious," Piper affirmed.

They were silent for a moment until Polly sighed deeply. "I'll be there in twenty."

"Thank you, Polly," Piper said genuinely. "Really, thank you."

* * *

An hour later, Polly was staring at Piper, stunned. Piper took a large sip of her coffee, setting it down on the kitchen table. Focusing intently on her mug, Piper waited for Polly to speak.

"Seriously?" Polly stuttered out.

Piper nodded, gaze still trained downward.

"Seriously?" Polly repeated. "Seriously?"

"Are you going to say anything else?" Piper asked quietly, finally looking at Polly's wide-eyed expression.

"What else am I supposed to say?" Polly began. "I mean, I know I never liked her, but I never thought that Alex Vause would be so delusional. Maybe she was just trying to seduce you, and just wanted you to believe that she was your soulmate. Though, she's clearly not very smart, or she would have been more subtle at first, and then-"

"I don't know if she's wrong," Piper admitted quietly.

Polly stopped abruptly, looking at Piper like she was crazy. "What the hell are you talking about? Of course she's wrong. Isn't she?" Polly trailed off, her voice tinged with uncertainty.

"I don't know," Piper said helplessly. "I just… we just connected instantly when we met at work."

"Yeah, so? You and I became friends like the first day of middle school. And you and Gemma became friends became friends pretty soon after you started."

"I guess," Piper trailed off. "But it feels different somehow."

"How?" Polly pressed.

"I can't really explain it. There are times when I would… I would honestly rather spend a day lying around with Alex than do anything else. She's really easy to talk to; it's like she gets me. _Knows_ me. And… I don't know, it's just hard to explain and this just all sounds super cheesy."

"It's sounds a lot like a friendship."

"It's different, trust me," Piper sighed. "Remember when we were in middle school and high school, and I used to pinch myself whenever I felt my soul mate doing something that hurt?"

"Um, yeah kind of. Weren't you trying to communicate with your soulmate?"

"Mhm, Yeah," Piper nodded. "When I went to Coney Island with Alex and her mom, Diane mentioned that Alex would also communicate with her soulmate in the same way…" Piper trailed off, her eyes widening in emphasis.

"So?" Polly questioned. "Do you actually think that only you and your soulmate are doing that? I'm sure other people do it all the time."

"Did you?" Piper countered.

"Well, no, but you can't be the only two. And even if you are the only two, are you sure your soulmate is a girl?"

"What about Pete?" Piper shot back defensively. "You two have been sleeping together for almost a year. Is he your soulmate?"

"I don't know," Polly shrugged. "But I don't really care either. I'm not ready to settle down yet, so I'm just having some fun. But you've been so into the waiting for your soulmate since the Larry debacle, are you sure you aren't just rushing into something again?"

Piper sighed, thinking. She wasn't sure. Maybe she was just jumping to conclusions, that everything was a coincidence, and Piper was just acting crazy. Maybe she should just stay away from Alex Vause.

Images suddenly flitted through Piper's memory. Alex's face lighting up when Piper says anything amusing. Alex's innate concern for Piper after a particularly difficult phone call with her mother. How comfortable she felt last night in the cab, her head resting on Alex's shoulder, Alex's finger running through her hair.

"I don't think so," she finally said slowly. "There's just something… different about her."

"But, do you _like_ her? Have you ever been into girls?"

"I don't know," Piper said helplessly. "I don't know if I have feelings for her or if I will, but I just think I should at least explore this."

"Whatever you say Piper," Polly answered slowly. "I just hope you know what you're doing."

"I don't," Piper admitted. "But I think I owe it to the both of us to figure it out."

* * *

On Monday morning, Piper's stomach would not stop rolling. After Polly left on Saturday, she had tried to psych herself up to call Alex on Sunday, but kept putting it off all Sunday until she finally chickened out. But now it was Monday, and Piper had no more excuses. She had to talk to Alex.

Piper closed her eyes as the elevator pinged, indicating that she had reached her office. Inhaling, she stepped off the elevator, making her way to Alex's desk. She slowed as she approached, surprised to see Alex's computer on and her bag on her desk, but Alex is nowhere to be found. Glancing around, Piper still couldn't see Alex. Feeling her resolve weaken, she turned and made her way to her own desk rather than hang around and wait for Alex.

Piper spent the morning distracted. Piper had seen Alex go back to her desk five minutes after Piper had sat down, but couldn't bring herself to go to her. So instead, she spent the morning sending out emails and listening to Alex's muted conversations with clients.

As noon approached, Piper was jittery, tapping the table with nerves. Torn between wanting to hash it out with Alex or avoiding the situation altogether, Piper finally settled on sending out an email a few minutes before her and Alex's usual lunch time. Agonizing over what to say, Piper eventually decided to get right to the point.

To: _Alex Vause_

Subject: _Lunch_

 _Hey Alex,_

 _Can we talk at lunch?_

 _Piper_

For seventy-three seconds, Piper stared at her computer screen, her stomach filling with dread as Alex didn't respond. Finally, the email icon blinked in the corner of her screen, and Piper immediately opened it.

From: _Alex Vause_

Subject: _Re: Lunch_

 _I can't, I have a lunch meeting with a client._

 _Sorry,_

 _Alex_

Disappointed, Piper sighed. She _needed_ to do this. She just had to talk to Alex.

To: _Alex Vause_

Subject: _Re: Lunch_

 _Can we grab a drink after work? We really need to talk._

 _Thanks,_

 _Piper_

As she hit send, she saw Alex get up from her desk, moving towards the elevator as she put on her jacket. Wonderful, now she would have to wait until Alex got back from her meeting to see her response.

To distract herself, Piper texted Polly, and the two went out to lunch. Polly kept asking her questions about Alex and whether or not Piper was going to go through with it, which just made Piper more anxious.

When she returned from lunch, Piper noticed that Alex was already back at her desk, her back to Piper. Rushing to her computer, Piper opened her email. She noticed she had an email from Alex.

From: _Alex Vause_

Subject: _Re: Lunch_

 _After work is fine._

 _Alex_

Piper closed her eyes briefly, and began her countdown to five o'clock.

* * *

As soon as her clock changed from 4:59 to 5:00, Piper turned off her computer and quickly left her office. Even though it would be incredibly unlike Alex to bail on her, Piper didn't want to give her the opportunity to start.

When Piper reached Alex's office, she found the brunette sitting, just staring at her desk. Piper paused in the entryway, unsure what to do.

"Hey," Piper finally offered.

Alex glanced up, but her eyes quickly darted away. "Hi," she said quietly.

"Wanna head out?" Piper asked.

Alex nodded, standing from her desk and grabbing her coat and bag.

They walked to the elevator in silence. Piper kept sneaking glances at Alex, but Alex's eyes remained fixed to the floor. She didn't like this; that Alex wasn't talking to her, wasn't looking at her.

They stayed silent for the rest of the walk to the bar around the corner, and Piper was growing more and more uncomfortable with every step. When they reached the bar, Piper led Alex to a two person table in the back,still not speaking as the waitress took their drink orders.

When the waitress left with their drinks, Piper began to speak.

"Alex…" Piper started.

"I'm sorry," Alex cut in earnestly, fiddling with the label of her beer bottle. "I'm really sorry Piper. I don't know why I said that. I was drunk, and clearly not thinking straight. You aren't my soulmate-"

"No, Alex," Piper tried, but Alex kept going.

"and I know that. We're friends. Just friends. And I," Alex paused, her eyes shining with tears behind her glasses. "I need you to be my friend. I'm so, so, sorry for being stupid."

"Alex," Piper whispered, reaching across the table and gripping Alex's hand. "I don't think you were wrong."

Alex looked at Piper with wide eyes. "What?" she asked, disbelieving.

"I don't think you're wrong," Piper repeated quietly. "I mean, I feel like there's this _thing_ between us, you know? We just became friends so fast, and that never happens to me. And I used to pinch my arm whenever my soulmate would hurt me to get them to stop. And," Piper paused, thinking back to the day that started it all. "I know I felt your leg cramp that day we went running. So, please don't apologize. You aren't wrong."

Alex just stared at Piper. She didn't move, she didn't attempt to speak, her expression didn't change. Piper wasn't sure if Alex doubted her sincerity, or was just in shock, but the silence was making Piper nervous.

Hoping for a reaction, Piper used her free hand, the one not holding Alex's, and pinched herself, hard.

"Ouch, shit!" Alex hissed, letting go of Piper's hand and rubbing her arm. "What the hell?"

"Oh good, you can still speak," Piper said dryly. "Apparently it takes hurting myself to get a reaction from you."

Alex's eyes widened. "You really believe this?" Alex asked slowly.

"Well, I guess I can't deny it now," Piper gave Alex a small smile, gesturing to her arm.

Piper watched as Alex's eyes brightened, looking hopeful. "So what does this mean?"

Piper sighed, her gaze dropping to the table before looking back at her friend. "Look, Alex…"

Alex's face dropped instantly. "What?"

"I...I can't say that we aren't soulmates, we just made that pretty clear. It's just that, this isn't really what I expected, you know?"

Alex's face hardened at that, and Piper reached out to grab her hand again.

"That's not what I meant. You're one of my closest friends, obviously I like you and I love spending time with you. I just never really planned on this. And I don't want to mess it up like I did with Larry, when I was so convinced that he was my soulmate that I just jumped into a relationship without really thinking about it."

"And he wasn't your soulmate. You know I am," Alex replied.

"I know, I know. I'm just asking for some time. I don't know if I have feelings for you beyond friendship right now. And I want to get this right. I _have_ to get this right. I don't want to jump into a relationship, I want to take my time. We can still be friends, nothing changes." Piper promised, looking at Alex with wide eyes.

Piper watched nervously as Alex pursed her lips before nodding. "I guess that's fair," she answered, giving Piper a small smile.

"Really?" Piper smiled, relieved.

"Yeah, I get it, this has to be weird for you. You weren't expecting...me."

"But there's nothing wrong with that," Piper cut in quickly.

Alex smiled. "But it's still different. We can take it slow. Give you some time to adjust before moving forward. I mean, you are my soulmate, I can't just walk away from that."

"Thank you," Piper said quietly.

"No problem," Alex grinned. "Now, I need to hear, in detail, just how hungover you were on Saturday."

"It was awful!" Piper groaned before telling Alex about her lazy Saturday, altering the narrative to leave out her freakout to Polly.

As Alex smiled and laughed at the story, Piper couldn't help but feel like she was diving head first into a new type of adventure.


End file.
